Poultry practices : a newsletter for poultry producers and poultry litter applicators.

              Oklahoma Cooperat ive Extension Service
3007 Azalea Park Dr .
Muskogee, OK 74401
Snow collapsed- continued from page 3
Poultry Practices Issue 02 November 2011
effects on untreated wood and insulation by coating them in water. Dry wood will expand after absorb-ing
moisture and then contract during hot summer temperatures. This expansion/contraction process
can result in fasteners becoming loose, affecting the
overall structural soundness. Furthermore, with only a
limited number of attic access panels, the roof may only
benefit with a few small areas of snow melt. Although
opening the access panels may somewhat help, many
experts believe that this practice is of little value.
Physical removal of the snow using roof rakes may be a
better solution. Even removing snow from the lower por-tion
of the roof provides weight relief and allows snow
from the upper portion of the roof to slide down.
Of course, safety should be the first priority. If a house is nearing collapse, do not risk injury in an at-tempt
to save it. Prevention by regular inspection and repair of the roof system is key to avoiding a
house collapse. Additional information is referenced below.
Reference: D. Brothers, J. Campbell, J. Donald and G. Simpson. Avoiding Snow Disaster. Poultry Engineering,
Economics and Management Newsletter. 2011. (70). Available at: www.poultryhouse.com
PoullttrryPrracttiices IS SUE
No v emb e r
2 0 1 1
02
New changes to the Poultry
Waste Management Edu-cation
Program will take
effect in 2012. These modi-fications
will significantly
improve the program by
restructuring the education-al
requirements. I encour-age
you to attend one of
our many fall training clas-ses
or visit your local Coun-ty
Extension Office to learn
more. An electronic ver-sion
of our newsletter
is available online at
poultrywaste.okstate.edu
where you can also find
useful fact sheets, links,
regulatory information and
upcoming poultry waste
management classes.
Josh Payne, Ph.D.
Area Animal Waste
Management Specialist
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
A newsletter for poultry producers and poultry litter applicators...
This issue
SB 92: Changes to Oklahoma’s Poultry Waste Mgmt Program P.1-2
Bovine Coccidiosis Not Linked to Poultry Litter or Wild Birds P.2
Purchasing and Stockpiling Poultry Litter During Fall for Spring Application P.2-3
Preventing Snow Collapsed Poultry Houses P.3-4
Senate Bill 92 was signed into effect April 13, 2011, and will affect the Oklahoma
Poultry Waste Management Education Program by modifying the 1998 Oklaho-ma
Registered Poultry Feeding Operations Act and the Poultry Waste Applica-tors
Certification Act. The current Acts require that both poultry operators and
poultry waste applicators attend:
• 9 hours of initial training within the first year of becoming registered or
licensed and
• 3 hours of continuing education each year thereafter.
The new bill becomes effective January 1, 2012, and requires that poultry opera-tors
and poultry waste applicators attend:
• 9 hours of initial training within the first year of becoming registered or
licensed and
• 2 hours of continuing education each year until receiving a total of 19
training hours.
Upon receiving the 19 required hours, the operator or applicator will graduate
from the program but shall be required to attend:
• 2 hours of continuing education every 3 years.
Operators or applicators may attend more hours than are required; however,
these hours shall not be carried forward.
Editor ’s Column
poultrywaste.okstate.edu
Senate Bill 92
Changes to Oklahoma’s
Poultry Waste Mgmt Education Program
Josh Payne
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service does not discriminate because of race, color, national origin, religion,
gender, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran, and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
continued on next page
2
SB 92 - continued from page 1
This modification will significantly improve the education program by separating the trainings
into undergraduate and graduate level courses. Extension Educators and Specialists can fo-cus
their training efforts on teaching core curricula to undergraduate students while not re-peating
the same core curricula to graduate students. Graduate students will then be updated
with new regulatory and nutrient management based curricula. The implementation of a grad-uate
program will also help to divide audience size, providing a more conducive learning envi-ronment.
Furthermore, modifying the continuing education to 2 hours will assist with main-taining
audience attention.
Bovine Coccidiosis Not Linked to
Poultry Litter or Wild Birds
Josh Payne
Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease that affects cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, poultry and
pets. Coccidia are protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria that inhabit the cells of the intes-tinal
lining. There, the parasites multiply, and eggs (oocysts) are shed in the feces. Oocysts
are extremely resistant to environmental stress and can be transmitted to other animals of the
same species through contaminated feed, water, or soil. Clinical signs in cattle usually in-clude
diarrhea varying from watery manure to manure containing blood.
Sometimes cattle producers are concerned that coccidiosis from infected commercial poultry
or wild birds, such as geese, could potentially be transmitted to their cattle. Producers that
land-apply poultry litter may be even more concerned. The fact of the matter is that coccidia
are very host specific and the species of Eimeria that affects cattle is different from the spe-cies
of Eimeria that affects poultry. The same can be said for other animals. In addition, few
oocysts are found after birds are removed from a farm because poultry litter is a poor environ-ment
for oocyst survival. Although oocysts may survive for many weeks in soil, their survival
in litter is limited to just a few days because of the heat and ammonia released and the action
of molds and bacteria.
The bottom line is, don’t be concerned about bovine coccidiosis occurring from land-applied
poultry litter or from wild migratory waterfowl. Transmission in cattle generally occurs in over-crowded
or congregated areas through the bovine to bovine (fecal-oral) route.
Purchasing and Stockpiling Poultry
Litter during Fall for Spring Application
Josh Payne
Many producers apply poultry litter during the spring months as an affordable fertilizer source
for summertime crop and forage production. This often coincides with higher demand and
higher prices for poultry litter. Higher demand may also equate to limited availability of litter re-
cont’d on page 4 3
Roof Design
Snow Load
Light/Dry Snow Heavy/Wet Snow Ice Water
5 lbs/sq ft 19.2 inches 2.9 inches 1.0 inch 1.0 inch
10 lbs/sq ft 38.4 inches 5.8 inches 2.1 inches 1.9 inches
Preventing Snow Collapsed Poultry Houses
Josh Payne
A recent newsletter article from Auburn University, titled “Avoiding Snow Disaster” outlined
some tips for preventing poultry house damage or even collapse from snow accumulation. In
all likelihood, this thought weighed heavily on the minds of poultry producers in Oklahoma and
Arkansas following the 2011, record setting winter snowfall.
First and foremost, poultry producers should know the snow load capacity that the house was
designed to meet. Below is a table illustrating various snow loads that a typical poultry house
can withstand. Note the difference between light/dry snow and heavy wet snow.
Secondly, regular inspection and repairs should be made to meet that standard. This includes
inspection of the attic including trusses, truss bracing, purlins, and metal that comprise the
roof structure.
If dealing with snowfall accumulation on top of a house, some growers may consider opening
attic access panels allowing warm air to enter the attic and possibly melt the snow on the roof.
However, condensation concerns, which occur when warm moist air enters the attic and
comes into contact with cold surfaces, should be considered. This practice can have negative
quiring producers to be flexible with application timing. One alternative is to purchase litter
during the fall and stockpile under covered storage until spring for land application. The ad-vantages
to this strategy may include: 1) lower demand 2) lower prices 3) increased availabil-ity
and 4) freedom to apply based on a producer’s individual schedule.
It is important to remember that stored litter must
remain under cover (tarp, storage barn, etc.) ac-cording
to state regulations. Keeping litter dry re-duces
N losses from ammonia volatilization and
avoids potential runoff concerns. Research has
reported total N losses of approximately 12% from
stockpiled litter; however, much of the value at-tained
from litter originates from the phosphorus
and potassium levels, which are not lost during
proper stockpiling.