Quantifying ammonia reduction figures in industrialised broiler housing with the use of Pruex bacteria

Microbial cleansing, using food grade _Bacillus_, has been in use in hospitals for the past seven years. Using _Bacillus_ to clean surfaces has proven more effective and sustainable than alternate chemical disinfectants. Pruex are leading the use of _Bacillus_ for a range of agricultural applications including cleansing poultry houses by converting bird excrement to a drier, potentially more nutrient dense product, which has the potential to reduce nitrate leaching into the environment, improve bird health as well as farm profitability.

Early trials have shown reductions in GHG nitrous oxide as well as ammonia and disease causing pathogens. When combined, _Bacillus_ treatment dramatically improves growth, laying, welfare, and overall profitability. Quantifying the reductions in GHGs has proved challenging in commercial settings due to the ventilation in large poultry sheds; gases are able to escape, and the treatment bacteria can easily contaminate the control shed through the ventilation system; in a commercial setting this is beneficial, however in a trial setting, the ventilation needs to be controlled to ensure accurate measurements of the reductions in GHGs and ammonia.

This project will investigate the reductions in ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide produced by _Bacillus_ treatment in a controlled poultry shed with the aim of quantifying the ammonia reduction figure.