Recycled poultry litter, particularly broiler litter, has been used as an
ingredient in cattle rations. However, after the discovery of the BSE, the FDA
proposed to ban feeding litter to cattle in January, 2004.
A legal feed ingredient
Many producers still believe that feeding poultry litter is banned. This,
however, is not the case. The FDA never followed through with the proposed ban
and poultry litter is currently a legal feed ingredient, says Dr Matt Poore,
extension ruminant specialist and Dr Mark Alley, veterinarian with the NCSU
College of Veterinary Medicine.
Winter feed programme
New measures are been taken to reduce BSE in cattle in the US, but it very
unlikely that a ban on feeding poultry litter will be implemented in the near
future. So, cattle producers that have fed poultry litter to cattle can continue
to incorporate it into their winter feed plan. It has also been encouraged that
cattle producers seeking an emergency feed source, particularly in a drought
situation, to consider it for their winter feeding programmes this year.
Good alternative
It would not be recommended in most situations for a cattle producer to
invest additional capital in developing a long-term program for processing and
feeding poultry litter. However, where poultry litter is plentiful, feeding
litter may be a very good alternative feed source.
