In-Vessel Composting of Un-Separated Hatchery Waste

Hatchery waste is the result of broken and/or unhatched eggs at facilities designed to produce young chicks for stocking broiler production houses.  The waste consists of unhatched chicks, membranes, embryonic fluids and egg shell.

One disposal option for this waste product involves the loading and transport of the material to a facility that separates the liquids from the solids using centrifugal force.  The liquid is refrigerated and transported by tanker truck to a pet food manufacturing plant.  The solids (chicks, membranes, egg shell) are landfilled.

This project evaluated the capability of in-vessel composting techniques to decompose and stabilize the un-separated waste material obtained directly from the hatchery.  The waste was collected in an open-topped tank in Pittsburg, Texas and transported to Texas A&M University-Commerce for mixing and loading into research-size in-vessel composters.

Due to the high moisture content (~80%) of the waste product, wood products were used to serve as absorbents and bulking agents as outlined in the table below:
 
 

Temperatures of the above blends during the composting process can be seen here.

Following is the nutritional content of the compost from the 3:1 blend when analyzed as a soil and as a tissue.