This study investigated the effect of adding poultry litter additive containing probiotics and amino acids to the litter on weight gain in ducks and ammonia content in poultry litter. Nine hundred 1-day-old ducks (Pekin) were randomly distributed into three groups (300 birds per treatment divided into three replicates) using a randomized block design. Treatments were top-dressed on the litter surface at rates of 2 kg poultry litter additives (T1) and 2 kg macsumsuk (T2) per m2, and untreated poultry litter was used as the control. Overall, a significant difference (p<0.05) in weight gains was observed at 3 and 4 weeks, but not at 5 and 6 weeks. After 4 weeks, when compared to other treatments, the addition of poultry litter additive tended to increase the average body weight gain (90-130 g). The ammonia content was affected by all treatments (p<0.05) over time except at 3 weeks, however, compared to other treatments, the poultry litter additive decreased the ammonia content. In particular, the rate of ammonia reduction by the poultry litter additives over time was approximately 20.2%-49.2%. Regarding temperature, a significant difference was observed in all treatment groups (p<0.05), except at 3 weeks. In conclusion, considering poultry litter additives and temperature, the increase in duck weight gain was associated with a decrease in ammonia content in the poultry litter.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary Hermetia illucens powder on duck litter quality. One hundred twenty Pekin ducks (0 day old) were assigned to 2 groups (0% and 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder) with 3 replicates (20 ducks per replicate) for 42 days. Duck litter quality included moisture, pH, VBN, total nitrogen, ammonia, and temperature. Litter pH and VBN values were significantly affected by Hermetia illucens powder (p<0.05). However, moisture and total nitrogen values were not greatly influenced by the addition of 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder (p>0.05). At 21, 28 and 35 days, both 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder and controls had a great effect (p<0.05) on ammonia contents, except at 7, 14 and 42 days. In comparison to control, ammonia contents in groups with 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder were reduced from 16.9 to 41.8% as the days increased. Duck litter showed lower temperature by 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder compare to control. In terms of environmental managements, these results suggest that using 0.5% Hermetia illucens powder as feed additives improved litter quality and decreased ammonia contents.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a mixture of bentonite and illite as feed additives on the growth performance and litter quality of 90 Pekin ducks. The ducks were individually weighed and randomly divided into two treatments (control and 1% combination of silicate minerals), with three replicate pens per treatment, and 15 ducks per pen. Growth performance was not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the combination of bentonite and illite, but a trend of increased growth performance was observed in the control groups. Total nitrogen content and pH in the litter decreased following supplementation with the combination of bentonite and illite (p<0.05) when compared with the control group. This data indicates that the dietary supplementation with the combination of bentonite and illite (1% level) has no positive effect on the growth performance and litter quality of Pekin ducks.

This study examined the effects of chemical blends (a combination of alum and aluminum chloride) on pH, N, and pathogens in duck litter during a six-week experiment. In total, 240 Pekin ducks (160 males and 80 females) were individually distributed into 16 pens, in a randomized experimental design consisting of four treatments and four replicate pens per treatment. Our treatments included a control, T1 (75 g alum + 75 g aluminum chloride/kg duck litter), T2 (100 g alum + 100 g aluminum chloride/kg duck litter), and T3 (150 g alum + 150 g aluminum chloride/kg duck litter). There was no difference among treatments in pH and Total N (TN) at weeks 2, 4, and 6 and weeks 1, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. However, there were significant differences in both pH and TN among treatments at weeks 1, 3, and 5 and weeks 2 and 3, respectively. Regarding pathogens, we found small differences in all treatments in Escherichia coli populations from weeks 1 to 5 and in Salmonella enterica populations from weeks 1 to 3. In conclusion, the addition of chemical blends to duck litter increased TN, which resulted in a lower litter pH, but did not significantly affect pathogen populations.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of duck litter in ducks fed diets containing Houttuynia cordata powder. One-day-old ducklings (Pekin) were randomly divided into two groups and fed a control or 1% H. cordata powder-containing diet for an experimental period of three weeks. The results showed that pH for 1–2 weeks and total nitrogen for 1–3 weeks in duck litter were affected by dietary treatments with 1% H. cordata powder (P < 0.05). For Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs), there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between ducks fed 1% H. cordata and control diets, as shown in the results for acetic acid and propionic acid in duck litter over three weeks; but, this was not the case for propionic acid at 3 weeks. The inclusion of 1% H. cordata powder in the diet had a the positive effect on increasing the total nitrogen and decreasing pH and VFAs in duck litter.

The effects of Houttuynia cordata powder on the growth performance of ducks were investigated. Ninety ducks were assigned into one of three dietary treatments as a completely randomized design for 6 weeks: feeds supplemented with 1% or 2% H. cordata and a control group. No significant difference was observed in feed conversion among the three groups (p > 0.05), but addition of H. cordata had a significantly positive effect (p < 0.05) on initial and final body weight, weight gain, and feed intake of the ducks. Furthermore, the effects of chemical treatment (comprising 50 g and 100 g aluminum chloride [AlCl3] per kilogram litter) on the ammonia (NH3) flux in duck litters were also investigated. Duck litter was treated with AlCl3 at a depth of 8 cm by top-dressing; this resulted in a significant difference on NH3 flux (p < 0.05) during the experimental period (but not at 2 weeks). NH3 flux at 6 weeks were reduced by 25.4% and 37.5% by treatment with 1% and 2% H. cordata, respectively, compared with the control groups. In conclusion, enriching the diets of the ducks with 2% H. cordata and adding 100 g AlCl3 to their litter has beneficial effects on increasing their growth performance and reducing NH3 flux in their environment.