Good litter is dry, loose and does not smell strongly of ammonia. Spread about 5 cm of clean, dry rice husk or wood shavings on a clean floor, more in winter, keep it dry with good drinkers and ventilation, and remove wet patches as soon as you find them. Most litter problems start at the drinkers and end in foot burns, ammonia and disease.
Why litter matters
Broilers spend their whole life sitting on litter. It soaks up droppings and water, keeps chicks warm from below and cushions their feet and breasts. When it gets wet:
- Ammonia rises, which harms the airways and slows growth.
- Foot pads and hocks burn, and breast blisters appear in heavy birds.
- Coccidia and bacteria multiply quickly in warm, wet litter. Our post on coccidiosis and wet litter explains this link.
- Dirty birds lose value at sale and at processing.
Mississippi State University extension notes that caking problems begin when litter moisture goes above about 25 percent, and foot pad burns become common around 35 percent.
Choosing litter material
| Material | Good points | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Rice husk | Cheap in rice areas, dries well | Dust, mould if stored wet |
| Wood shavings | Soft, absorbs well | Wet or mouldy loads, sawdust too fine |
| Chopped straw | Available in wheat areas | Mats and cakes faster, needs more turning |
| Sawdust only | Cheap | Too fine, chicks may eat it, dusty |
Whatever you use, check it before it goes in:
- It should be dry to the hand and not warm inside the bag or heap.
- It should not smell musty. Mouldy litter can cause fungal lung infection in chicks.
- It should not carry chemicals, paint or treated wood.
Store litter under a roof, off the ground, away from rain.
Spreading litter
- Clean and disinfect the floor and let it dry fully before spreading.
- Spread about 5 cm (2 inches) evenly over the whole floor. In winter, on cold or damp floors, go to about 7 to 8 cm.
- Level it with a rake. Thin spots get wet first; thick piles near walls waste litter.
- Warm the litter before chicks arrive: aim for litter around 28 to 32°C, as described in the winter brooding checklist.
The squeeze test
You do not need a meter. Every day, pick up a handful of litter from three places: under the drinker line, in the middle between lines, and along the wall.
- Falls apart when you open your hand: good.
- Stays loosely together, then breaks: fine, keep watching.
- Forms a hard ball or drips: too wet, act today.
- Dusty, flies up when you drop it: too dry, more common in hot dry weather. It is less harmful than wet litter, but dust irritates the airways, so check air quality.
Turning and wet patches
Where wet patches come from
- Leaking nipples or overflowing bell drinkers
- Drinkers set too low, so birds splash water
- Water pressure too high in the nipple line
- Too little ventilation in winter, so moisture from the birds stays in the shed
- Rain coming through broken curtains or roof
- Loose droppings from feed or water problems, or disease
What to do
- Find and fix the cause first. Check drinker height daily: nipples a little above the bird's head so it stretches up to drink; bell drinkers at the height of the bird's back.
- Remove caked, wet litter with a shovel and take it out of the shed.
- Add fresh, dry litter in its place.
- Turn or rake the litter in the first 2 to 3 weeks if it starts to crust, mostly in the middle of the shed and along drinker lines. Turning breaks the crust and helps the top dry.
- Increase minimum ventilation if the whole shed feels damp. See ventilation in control and open sheds.
Ammonia: the warning you can smell
Ammonia comes from droppings breaking down in warm, wet litter. If your eyes water when you enter the shed in the morning, ammonia is already well above the level guides recommend (under about 10 ppm, never above 25 ppm). Birds feel it before you do, because they are sitting in it.
Dry litter is the best ammonia control. Some farmers use litter treatments; ask your local advisor or vet before using any product, and never use one as a replacement for fixing leaks and ventilation.
Between batches
- Remove all old litter from the shed and away from the farm, not in a heap next to the gate where flies and wild birds spread it.
- Dry clean, wash, disinfect and let the shed stand empty as long as your schedule allows.
- Old litter is valuable as fertiliser for fields, but keep it covered and well away from your sheds.
Keep notes
Write litter condition in your daily log, even in one word: dry, damp or wet, and where. Poultry Curve's log lets you add a short note next to deaths and feed, so you can see if wet litter shows up a few days before a rise in deaths or a drop in feed intake. Over a few batches this tells you which shed, which drinker line or which month gives you trouble.
Dry litter costs little, but it protects feet, lungs, growth and FCR. Track the effect with the FCR calculator.