Abstract

The objectives of this work were to study the effects of a pelleting process on quail litter (QL) properties including basic physicochemical properties, nutrient contents and heavy metal contents. Results show that the pelleting process decreased variability in dry matter, electrical conductivity, urea N, K, Na, S, Fe, Cu and Cd contents. Dry matter content of pelleted QL showed correlation with several forms of N, including total N, ammonium N, nitrate N, organic N and urea N. The pelleted QL was clearly preferable to the fresh QL with regard to storage, handling, transport and field application. The results highlight a need to improve the pelleting process by minimizing variability in pH, total N, ammonium N, nitrate N and total P. 

Key words: Bedding material, dry matter, fertilizer, manure, prediction.