Effect of activated carbon on the nitrogen balance in broilers, soil and corn forage fertilized with the excreta of the broilers

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the contribution and nitrogen retention in broilers supplementedwith activated carbon (CaAc), as well and in soils and corn forage fertilized with the excretaof chickens that consumed CaAc.Design / methodology / approach: Chickens individually housed received diets with fourlevels of CaAc: 0, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.45% and their nitrogen balance was determined usingthe total collection of excreta. 200 g of the chicken excreta were taken and mixed with 2 kgof soil (S + E) in plastic trays and watered every 15 d. On day 1 and 60, samples weretaken to perform the nitrogen balance assessment. The S + E mixtures were added to 17kg of agricultural soil in pots to produce corn forage for 100 d, their yield and compositionwere recorded. The results were analyzed with an ANOVA and linear regression.Findings / conclusion: In chickens, nitrogen retention showed a quadratic response (P<0.05); In the S + E mixtures, the percentage (P <0.01) and final nitrogen content (P <0.05) had also quadratic responses, and in the forage, the nitrogen percentage showed a cubicresponse (P <0.05) respect to the increases in the addition of CaAc in the chicken´s diet. CaAc can be used to improve the nitrogen efficiency in chickens and for nitrogen recycling through the integration of excreta in agricultural soils and its extraction in corn forage.