Nitrogen flow characterization of laying hen production systems: A mass balance approach
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Martin Belzile; Matthieu Girard; Frédéric Pelletier; Stéphane Godbout; Sébastien Fournel
- Source
- Scopus-Elsevier
- Subject
- Engineering
Nutrient management
business.industry
Environmental engineering
Production (economics)
Nitrogen flow
Poultry farming
business
Manure
Laying
Life-cycle assessment
Barn (unit)
- Language
A better understanding of the whole farm nitrogen (N) cycle is a key factor in the identification of the environmental hot spot associated with laying hen production systems. The objective of the current study was to quantify N flow for the entire production cycle (barn, manure storage and land application) of a typical laying hen farm using a mass balance approach. A typical farm equipped with a manure belt cage system with natural drying was used for the N flow characterization. The manure was considered stored on the farm and land applied following a nutrient management plan.