The chemical quality of poultry litter submitted, for three consecutive flocks, to different chemical conditioners was evaluated. One-thousand-three-hundred and twenty birds, 440 birds per each flock, were allotted to five treatments (Treat. 1 - untreated litter; Treat. 2 - litter treated with aluminum sulfate; Treat. 3 - litter treated with gypsum; Treat. 4 - litter treated with single superphosphate and Treat. 5 - litter treated with hydrated lime) in a completely randomized block design with four replicates. Sample litters were collected at 42 days. No influence of the conditioners (P>0.05) on the dry matter results was observed. Aluminum sulfate reduced (P<0.002) pH (7.42, 7.07 and 6.00, respectively in the first, second and third flocks) and reduced (P<0.05) the quantity of volatilized ammonia (3.14, 1.36 and 1.79 mg/100g, respectively in the first, second and third flocks), in comparison to other treatments. Aluminum sulfate can be added to poultry litter to reduce pH and to inhibit the ammonia volatilization.
ammonia; chemical conditioners; moisture; poultry litter
