On station maggot production using poultry litter as substrate: assessment on the quantity and the chemical quality of the litter before and after maggot production in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The maximization of organic substrates production for land sustainable management is a major challenge for agricultural production in countries like Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to assess the quantity and the quality of organic substrates produced by poultry activity on station. Therefore, 54 local chickens at eighteen months old were allocated to 3 batches (boxes), with 18 chickens per batch. Rice husk was spread on the floor of the 3 boxes as litter for the chickens. The chickens were reared on the litter for 6 months in semi-confinement. Then, the poultry litter (PL) was used as substrate for maggots’ production. The quantities and the chemical characteristics of the raw PL as well as the residues of the litter after maggots’ production (RMP) were determined, and, simulations were done to estimate the quantities of organic substrates and the chemical nutrients that poultry farms can produce. The results show a production of 226.06 kg DM of PL after 6 months of semi- confinement, with a decrease of 30.33% when the PL was used to produce maggots. Carbon and nitrogen contents also registered a decreased of 8.83 and 8.39% respectively when PL was used to produce maggots. However, with phosphorus and potassium contents, an increase of 49.12 and 34.21% were noted, respectively. It was concluded that small poultry farmers with 30 to 100 adult chickens, could produce the equivalence of 100 to 300 kg of fertilizer (NPK (15-15-15)) in semi-confinement condition.

Keywords: local poultry, litter, organics substrates, maggot production, fertilizer, small farm.