A note on the effect of adding sea urchin shell powder in diet on growth performance in chicken and litter quality

Abstract

A small pen trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of diet supplementation with sea urchin shell powder on the broiler performance and ammonia emissions in poultry houses for 28 days. A total of 120 male broilers (n = 30 birds/treatment) were fed four diets supplemented with 0%, 0.1%, and 1.0% sea urchin shell powder or 1% feed additives. The use of sea urchin shell powder and feed additives improved growth performance compared to the controls. When compared with the control group at four weeks, ammonia fluxes were decreased by 29.2%, 37.6%, and 27.9% for 0.1% and 1.0% sea urchin shell powder and 1% feed additives, respectively, which could be due to the reduced litter pH. The addition of 1% sea urchin shell powder was effective in improving growth and reducing negative environmental impacts. It is suggested that the decrease in the ammonia level was mainly related to the lower litter pH.