A study of the fauna of poultry deep litter

The ‘built-up or deep’ litter system for housing poultry came into use in America during World War II, when labour and materials were restricted. It consists of recently used Utter, at least 6 in. in depth, containing micro-organisms which produce beneficial heating, synthesizing and sanitizing effects (Halbrook, Winter & Sutton, 1951; Kennard & Chamberlain, 1951). Four requirements have been laid down by Bott, Ferguson, Berkland & Winter (1952) for proper functioning of deep litter; they are: (1) The depth of the litter must be greater than 6 in. to ensure the absorption of fresh dropping and for effective chemical and biological activities.