Bacterial levels of pine shavings and sand used as poultry litter

Bacterial loads associated with sand and pine shavings litter were determined in 2 grow-out experiments with broilers that lasted 7 wk. These experiments consisted of 8 pens each of pine shavings and sand. Birds were placed with 1.16 ft(2)/bird. Litter samples were collected weekly and plated to enumerate (cfu/g) aerobic, anaerobic, and enteric bacterial counts. In addition each sample was analyzed for water activity and percentage moisture levels. Overall, sand litter had lower bacterial counts, water activity, and moisture level compared with pine shavings litter. This work illustrates that, bacteriologically, sand can be a viable litter alternative to pine shavings if locally available.