Biochar for Chicken Farming

With the fast growth of the human population in the world and in line with the need for food or more specifically protein in the form of meat and eggs, the chicken farming industry has become a heavy burden. The projection of protein demand in 2050 is estimated to increase by 69% and almost half of it will come from chicken farms. The main focus of research and development in chicken farming today is how to meet the protein needs above. And that is only possible by developing new technologies to increase the efficiency of the use of feed nutrients in these chickens.

In 2017, global animal feed production has exceeded 1 billion tonnes for the first time and the livestock industry sector accounts for almost half of it, namely 44% of the total feed production or means more than 440 million tonnes alone. With the growth in world population, there is no doubt that the need for feed will also continue to increase. In addition, there is a real environmental impact on the dependence of soybeans from the United States and Brazil as a source of protein for these poultry or chicken farms. Environmental problems are also getting bigger with the presence of nitrogen compounds from the farm in the water flow and pollution of ammonia gas emissions (NH3). In addition, the use of feed with excessive protein content increases the tendency for disease to occur and increases the need for water by the chickens, which causes the problem of dung to become wet and soggy.

There has also been an increase in the use of other protein sources as ingredients for chicken feed, such as legume, peas and so on. But currently its use is still limited due to the compatibility of amino acids, mycotoxins and ease of pelletization. Feed pellet technology is a spectacular 20th century invention that continues to evolve today, for more details read here. The use of low protein feed and the high absorption of these nutrients can be a solution to the problem of ammonia pollution. Biochar can be added as a feed supplement (feed additive) to increase the efficiency of the feed conversion. Biochar in the internal body of the chicken will be able to deactivate a number of toxins and activate microbes either in the chicken intestine or improve the digestive system of the animal. This can be indicated by the rapidly increasing vitality of livestock.

Meanwhile, external factors that affect the health and productivity of chickens are the cleanliness of the cage. Feed factors and house hygiene including air circulation are very important to maintain the survival and productivity level of the chicken farm. The more population with a high density of chicken farms, the greater the pressure on disease. The high nutrient or protein content in chicken manure plus humid conditions is an ideal location for a number of germs to breed. In addition, ammonia emissions are also very damaging to the environment because they will form nitrous oxide (N2O), acidifying soil and eutrophication of waters.

The use of biochar as a feed additive and treatment of manure will minimize the two main problems mentioned above, namely livestock health and environmental pollution. In the end, with the health of the livestock is maintained, the level of livestock productivity is also well maintained. The quality of biochar for feed additives is also different from that of manure treatments. This is of course because the main uses and purposes are different. Biochar for the feed additive needs to be designed in such a way that the grade as a feed additive is met, such as by using selected biomass raw materials, modern pyrolysis technology so that control of the production process can be carried out properly from handling to packaging. As for the use of livestock manure treatment, the quality of biochar is lower, including the use of biomass raw materials, pyrolysis technology and so on. For more details, like the diagram below.

According to a number of studies, adding up to 0.6% biochar in feed increases chicken growth by an average of 17% and it is recommended to mix 0.4-0.6% biochar in the daily feed. Broiler chickens that were given biochar supplements reportedly increased their body weight by 5-10%. If 0.5% of biochar is used as a source of chicken feed additives for world chicken or poultry feed production, the potential need for biochar is 220,000 tonnes annually. And if the chicken manure is used for energy production in the biogas unit, the addition of biochar increases methane (CH4) production and the compost quality of the digestate.