Characterisation of Broiler Chicken Litter Odour

Since limited studies exist on the emissions of odours from tunnel ventilated broiler sheds under the Australian climate, this study aims to determine the key odorants in the headspace of litter at ambient temperature across the poultry production cycles. Analysis of litter odorant composition employing headspace sampling coupled to TD-GC-MS/O provided a greater understanding of the fate of odorants in the litter during bird growth cycle. The study also showed that characterise odorous volatiles can be correlated with dynamic dilution olfactometry responses. The results revealed that the odorous contributions were ketones, volatile fatty acids, sulfur and nitrogen compounds that were highly offensive substances, which impose significant effect on the odour annoyance from the emissions compared to other chemical functionalities. Finally the project also concludes with potential use of activated carbon, silica gel and zeolite as odour reducing strategy. Data obtained of this study would be handy for farm managers and odour regulating authorities.