The floor of the chicken coops is always covered with straw mixed with pine scraps and chicken droppings. This mixture is usually moist, being a breeding ground for bad smells and parasites of the chickens, spreading very easily like coccidiosis. Slaked lime reduces bacterial action, acts as a sterilizing agent and loosens the mantle, thus allowing air circulation and moisture evaporation. Waste treated with slaked lime is an excellent fertilizer known as chicken manure. It is usually applied in agricultural fields, providing phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and organic matter.
