Prepping for Winter Ammonia Buildup with Litter Life

If you’ve grown birds through any cold season, you know ammonia really kicks it up a notch when you’re trying to keep the houses warm. Instead of playing catch up when it gets to be unbearable, many growers we work with use our Litter Life to begin prepping floors for that cool season, now.

So this week, we’re doing a deep dive into best practices for application, so you can get the most out of Litter Life.

Mix Ratio

The mix ratio for Litter Life is 1 gallon of product to 9 gallons of water per 2,000 square feet.

After mixing, allow the mixture to sit for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Then, apply with a sprayer—a 500 gallon house washer, 25 gallon tank on the back of a four wheeler, etc. Anything you have will get the job done!

Timing

Apply Litter Life at least 7–10 days before placement. For best results, apply 12–14 days before placement.

It is best to apply Litter Life on a bare pad, so the good bacteria in Litter Life are able to get down into the dirt to competitively exclude the bad bacteria (like E. coli and Clostridium). Applying Litter Life before placement also introduces beneficial, biologically active, organic carbon to the floor.

If you are not able to apply on a bare pad, apply Litter Life on your built-up litter before adding the new bedding.

After spraying Litter Life on a cool day, close up the house. This will keep in warmth to increase beneficial microbial activity. It is important to note that nitrogen that cannot bind to carbon in a 25:1 ratio will gas off as ammonia. So, 1–2 days after spraying, you can open your house to allow ammonia to exit.

We hope these rates and tips help you prep for winter ammonia buildup and get the most out of your Litter Life applications!