[Studies in male sheep on the feeding value of excreta from young hens and broilers]

5 digestibility trials were carried out, each with 4 male sheep, to investigate the excreta of young hens and broilers produced as litter in hen batteries for rearing and fattening stock. Data on the digestibility of organic matter and energy of broiler excreta were 76.0% and 76.4%; i.e. these values were only slightly lower than those for the basal ration (barley + dried green lucerne: 76.6% and 76.8%). Digestibility coefficients for organic matter and energy content in the excreta of young hens were 69.4% and 70.4%, respectively. The protein digestibility of excreta of broilers and young hens was 82.3% and 84.3%; that is to say, the investigated dropping contained 330 g and 260 g of digestible crude protein per kg of dry matter. Due to the high ash content of the samples the energy content of the analyzed excreta was only 474 EFr and 421 EFr per kg of dry matter.