How do I manage broiler litter to keep birds healthy?

Good broiler litter should stay dry, friable and loose enough to crumble in your hand—not wet, sticky or caked. Breed management guides and poultry welfare assessment practice treat litter as a working part of the house: poor litter contributes to footpad dermatitis, hock burn, breast blisters, ammonia exposure and coccidiosis risk.

Check litter daily, especially beneath drinkers and wherever birds gather. Repair leaks, adjust drinker height to bird back level and check that birds can drink comfortably. Remove soaked patches and replace them with dry bedding; break up lightly caked areas and top up where needed rather than simply covering persistent wetness. Ventilate to carry moisture out as well as to control temperature. Ammonia you can smell at bird level already calls for corrective action.

In a naturally ventilated deep-litter house at 33C, for instance, the example flock of 2,000 birds occupies 200 m2 at 10 birds/m2. Hot conditions increase drinking and make moisture control especially important. FAO and breed-guide heat stress guidance recommends improving air movement over birds, maintaining plentiful clean water and reducing stocking where conditions require it. Never restrict water to keep litter dry; fix leakage and moisture removal instead.

Record daily water use alongside feed intake and temperature. FAO poultry development guidance and breed management guides put water intake at roughly 1.6–2.0 times feed intake by weight under thermoneutral conditions, but the ratio rises in heat. An unexplained increase can indicate leakage or a gut-health problem. Wet or blood-flecked droppings, reduced intake, huddling or worsening footpad lesions need investigation, not just fresh bedding. Fully remove spent litter between batches, then clean and dry the house before placing fresh litter.