Review of Measures to Control Airborne Pollutants in Broiler Housing

Abstract

Broiler housing is a significant source of airborne pollutants from animal production, which lead to degradation of indoor air quality and outdoor emissions, particularly ammonia, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide, odours and particulate matter. In this chapter, we first analyse the current state of the art on the consequences of these pollutants on broiler farming, farm workers, and the environment. This includes the factors affecting pollutants generation, quantification, and mitigation measures suppressing airborne pollutants. Next, we describe different best available techniques for environmental protection and sustainability of broiler production, namely feeds and feeding management, feed supplements, bedding management and treatment of exhaust air. Thus, broiler farms should select mitigation strategies based on several considerations, such as location, climate conditions, environmental policies and financial resources.