Abstract:
Executive Summary
Poultry waste management is a big challenge for low income economies. Therefore, the
objective of this study was to assess the current trends of poultry waste management
practices and also to know the nutrient content as well as heavy metals in poultry litter. The
questionnaire survey using randomly selected poultry farms (n= 100) was administered in
the five upazilas of Gazipur district from October 2022 to April 2023; followed by several
field visits. Fifteen broiler poultry litter and fifteen layer poultry litter samples were analyzed
for dry matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg),
sodium (Na), sulfur (S) and some heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium
(Cr). It was found that 88% farms used rice husk and 11% used wood shaving as bedding
materials. Among the surveyed farms, 48% dispose litter in pit, 43% on open place. Most of
the investigated layer farms used litter as fish feed (89%). No one of the respondents treated
the waste before disposal. Majority of the respondents (60%) said that complaint by the
neighbours living around the poultry farms was the odour. On the issue of environmental
pollution (water, soil and air pollution) due to poultry litter, most of the respondents’ (88%)
perception was negative (cause environment pollution). It was also observed that 85%, 95%
and 45% of the respondents were aware of surface water contamination, air pollution and
soil contamination, respectively by the improper disposal of poultry farm waste. The major
technical and socio-economical constrains are the lack of manure treatment capacity (51%)
and unavailability of credits (48%). About 86% of the respondent farmers stated that they
were unaware of improved manure management and 42% raised the problem of lacking
trading infrastructure. The laboratory analysis showed that dry matter content were 79% and
58%, respectively for broiler and layer manure. The average concentration of total N were
1.5%, 1.6%; Phosphorus were 3.4%, 2.3% and Potassium were 1.4% ,1.3% in broiler and
layer poultry litter respectively. The observed levels of heavy metals were BDL,
34.775±0.004 mg/kg for Pb; 0.370 ±0.002, 0.329 ±0.002 mg/kg for Cr, 0.082±0.002,
0.763±0.003mg/kg for Cd, in broiler and layer poultry litter respectively. It can be concluded
from the study that the limited knowledge on proper management of poultry wastes in the
study area as well as lack of enforcement of legislation predisposes the environment
pollution risks. Therefore, the result of this study will assist in formulating appropriate
strategies and to adopt poultry waste management solutions by poultry farmers to reduce
environmental degradation.
