Chicken for slaughtering, live weight, conventional rearing system {AU}| meat chicken production | AusLCI, U
Unit process Australia v00.00.000
This dataset represents the production of liveweight meat chicken in Australia. Information relative to direct emissions of methane and dinitrogen oxide from manure management was calculated from data and formula reported in the Australian National Inventory Report. Energy consumption and other inputs and outputs at the chicken farm were modelled based on information sourced from the literature, and representative of seven vertically integrated poultry producers based in Australia. This dataset is built using information reported in Copley and Wiedemann (2022). It was developed as part of the LCAgMetrics project, a partnership between Agrifutures Australia and Lifecycles, funded by the Australian Government's Sustainability Reporting Uplift Grant as part of the National Agriculture Traceability Grants Program. Documentation for this dataset can be found in the 'LCAgMetrics Methodology for developing Life Cycle Inventory' report, available at https://agrifutures.com.au/ Production volume: Undefined Reference flow: 1 kilogram of liveweight chicken Activities included: Energy value: Undefined Nutritional value: Undefined Geography: Australia Technology level: Current Time period: 2020-2025 Record: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU Generator: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU
- Sector
- Material
- Contributor
- —
- Last updated
- 26 Mar 2020
- Reference ID
8a0241b1-b94f-31ab-9a92-ec296c0fb369
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Documentation
- Quantitative reference
- Chicken for slaughtering, live weight, conventional rearing system {AU}| meat chicken production | AusLCI, U
- Sampling procedure
- —
- Creation date
- 26 Mar 2020
- Is copyright protected
- No
- Is infrastructure process
- No
- Tags
- material
- Sources
-
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory/2024/Commonwealth of Australia
Environmental impacts of Australian chicken meat/2022/Copley
Resource use and environmental impacts from Australian chicken/2016/Wiedemann
Product outputs
| Flow | Amount | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken for slaughtering, live weight, conventional rearing system {AU}| meat chicken production | AusLCI, U | 1000.0 | kg | Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.192 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.3 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass. |
| Chicken manure {AU}| BioC not balanced meat chicken production | AusLCI, U | 400.61538461538447 | kg | — |
Technical inputs
| Flow | Amount | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon correction factor {AU}| | AusLCI, U | -298.10450031764 | kg | Correcting biogenic balance after allocation |
| Chicken breeding and hatching, conventional rearing system {AU}| chicken breeding and hatching | AusLCI, U | 385.1 | Item(s) | — |
| Chicken feed {AU}| market for chicken feed | AusLCI, U | 1608.0 | kg | — |
| Diesel, burned in agricultural machinery {GLO}| diesel, burned in agricultural machinery | Cut-off, U | 30.880000000000003 | MJ | — |
| Electricity, low voltage {AU}| market for electricity, low voltage | AusLCI, U | 83.0 | kWh | — |
| Heat, liquefied petroleum gas, at industrial furnace >100kW/MJ/RER/adapted {AU}| | AusLCI, U | 460.03 | MJ | — |
| Tap water, at user, Australia {AU}| | AusLCI, U | 4882.1 | kg | — |
| Transport, truck, 16 to 28t, fleet average {AU}| | AusLCI, U | 120.6 | t*km | Transport of feed from mill to chicken farm |
| Wheat straw {AU}| market for wheat straw | AusLCI, U | 144.5 | kg | Average of two states in AusFood model |
Elementary flow outputs
| Flow | Compartment | Sub-compartment | Amount | Unit | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia, AU | Emission to air | unspecified | 24.47129478487585 | kg | — |
| Carbon dioxide, non-fossil | Emission to air | unspecified | 978.9618512357895 | kg | Resipiration by chickens - calculated by difference. |
| Dinitrogen monoxide | Emission to air | unspecified | 0.36736958825882793 | kg | — |
| Methane, non-fossil | Emission to air | unspecified | 1.5299830471254636 | kg | — |
| Nitrate | Emissions to air | — | 0.6998811940498708 | kg | — |
Parameters
| Name | Value | Formula | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC_chickenfeed | 0.44 | — | — |
| DM_manure | 0.75 | — | % DM author estimate |
| OTHER_PARAMETERS__ | — | — | — |
| NI | 0.0034224 | DMI*CP/CP_toN | [kg/head/day] Nitrogen intake, Equation 3.B.4g_4 |
| value_manure | 50.0 | — | $ per tonne |
| diesel | 0.8 | — | [litres] As reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| BioC_respiration | 266.98959579157895 | BioC_inputs-BioC_outputs | — |
| broiler_weight | 2.6 | — | [kg] Copley and Wiedemann (2022), Table 4 |
| M_hatchling | 0.04 | — | Estimate in kg from google |
| All_en_chicken | 53.680786725281436 | (1000*energy_chicken)/total_energy*100 | — |
| All_manure | 0.4982740277533253 | 100-All_chicken | — |
| EDV_diesel | 38.6 | — | [MJ/litre] NGA 2024 |
| A | 0.15 | — | [-] Ash content of manure, Meat chicken growers, expressed as a fraction, Table A.5.5.6.1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| iNOF | 0.004157 | — | [-] Integrated nitrous oxide EF, Meat chickens, Table A5.5.6.2, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| DM_chicken | 0.319 | — | — |
| distance_feed | 75.0 | — | [km] As reported in Table 1 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| iMCF | 0.0245296 | — | [-] Integrated methane conversion factor, calculated as weighted average of iMCF for each state (as reported in Table A5.5.6.2 of National Inventory Report 2023), and ABS Agricultural livestock product reporting mass of chicken meat produced per state. |
| Protein_chicken | 0.038 | — | — |
| NH3_soil | 10.740197237134314 | (N_applied-N_plant_uptake-N_applied*EF_soil)*17/14 | — |
| bioC_Outputs | 305.92956420842097 | 1000*DM_chicken*CC_chicken+Manure_wetmass*DM_Manure*CC_Manure+CH4_waste*12/16 | — |
| d_CH4 | 0.6784 | — | [kg/m3] Density of methane, Equation 3B.4g_2, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| MANURE_PARAMETERS__ | — | — | — |
| DMI | 0.093 | — | [kg/head/day] Dry matter intake, Meat chicken growers, Table A.5.5.6.1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| CP_toN | 6.25 | — | [-] Factor for converting crude protein into nitrogen, Equation 3B.4g_4, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| BioC_hatchlings | 6.903160000000001 | M_hatchling*DM_hatchling*CC_hatchling*1000 | — |
| straw | 144.5 | — | [kg] Average of SA and QLD data reported in Table 6 of Wiedemann (2016) |
| Bo | 0.36 | — | [m3 CH4/kg VS] emission potential, Meat chicken, Equation 3B.4g_2 of National Inventory Report 2023 |
| slaughter_age | 42.0 | — | [days] Average age at slaugher, as reported by chicken industry (https://www.poultryhub.org/production/meat-chicken-broiler-industry/meat-chicken-farm-sequence) |
| PROCESS_INPUTS__ | — | — | — |
| All_SWITCH | — | — | 0: economic; 1: mass; 2: energy; 3: protein |
| Manure_wetmass | 400.61538461538447 | DMI*(1-DMD)/DM_manure*slaughter_age/broiler_weight*1000 | [kg/1000kg LW] |
| CC_Chicken | 0.541 | — | (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content 0.541 of animal as DM. (Average carbon content of 0.175 C/kg liveweight assuming dressing of 63%, carcase composition of 70% meat, 20% fat and 10% bone; dry matter content of 15% by-product (blood, rumen, heads and hooves), 25% meat, 85% fat and 74% bone; and carbon content of 53% by-product, 53% meat, 76% fat and 7.5% bone.) |
| VS | 0.015809999999999994 | DMI*(1-DMD)*(1-A) | [VS kg/head/day] Equation 3.B.4g_1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| DM_chickenfeed | 0.8 | — | estimate |
| MS | 0.46 | — | [-] Fraction of waste handled through drylot and solid storage, Appendix A5.5.6.3, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| total_protein | 138.15384615384613 | 1000*protein_chicken+manure_wetmass*Protein_manure | — |
| Energy_manure | 14.0 | — | MJ per kg DM - needs updating |
| chicks | 385.1 | — | [chicks] Number of day-old chicks required, as reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| N2O_leaching | 0.002731794338065624 | NE*MS*Frac_WET*Frac_LEACH_MS*EF_leach*44/28 | [kg/1000kg LW] indirect emissions from leaching, equation 3.B.5d_3 and 3.B.5d_4 |
| DM_hatchling | 0.319 | — | — |
| EF_soil | 0.00503 | — | [kg N2O-N/kg N] Emission factor, Animal wastes applied to soils (Equation 3.D.A_4), National Inventory Report 2023 |
| feed | 1608.0 | — | [kg] As reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| N2O_direct_soil | 0.1412456638799598 | N_applied*EF_soil*44/28 | [kg/1000kg LW] Equation 3.D.A_4 |
| BioC_Actual_chicken | 172.579 | 1000*DM_chicken*CC_chicken | The actual amount of biogenic carbon which should be allocated to retail cuts in kg C. |
| total_energy | 12108.615384615383 | 1000*energy_chicken+manure_wetmass*energy_manure | — |
| Value_chicken | 4000.0 | — | $ per tonne |
| NR | 0.47 | — | [-] Nitrogen retention as a proportion of intake, Meat chicken growers, Table A.5.5.6.1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| Frac_WET | 0.58626 | — | [-] Fraction of N available for leaching and runoff, calculated as weighted average of Frac_WET for each state (as reported n Append A5.5.10.2 of National Inventory Report 2023), and ABS Agricultural livestock product reporting mass of chicken meat produced per state. |
| EF_Atm_dep | 0.0018 | — | [kg N2O-N/kg N] Atmospheric deposition emission factor, Meat Chicken, Equation 3B.5d_2, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| water | 4882.1 | — | [litres] As reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| DMD | 0.8 | — | [-] Digestibility, expressed as a fraction, Table A.5.5.6.1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| CC_Manure | 0.44 | — | Carbon content per unit dry matter. Estimated from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Elemental-analysis-of-the-chicken-manure_tbl1_329895596 |
| EDV_LPG | 25.7 | — | [MJ/litre] NGA 2024 |
| N_applied | 17.869503834442774 | NE*(1-iNOF-iFrac_GASM)-(NE*MS*Frac_WET*Frac_LEACH_MS*EF_leach) | [kg/1000kg LW] Equation 3.D.A_3, N in excreted manure minus N lost at the chicken farm via direct N2O, volatilisation and leaching |
| BioC_all__corr_chicken | -298.10450031764 | BioC_Actual_chicken-BioC_all_chicken | This is the correction to the biogenic carbon required to balance the biogenic carbon for retail cuts rs in kg C. |
| iFrac_GASM | 0.385924 | — | [-] integrated fraction of N volatilised for the meat and layer industries, Meat chickens, Table A5.5.6.2, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| NE | 29.301009230769232 | NI*(1-NR)*slaughter_age/broiler_weight*1000 | [kg/1000kg LW] Nitrogen excretion, Equation 3.B.4g_5, modified to to consider the average age of chicken at abattoir, and divided by the live weight of chicken to obtain an emission per kilogram of liveweight |
| All_ECO_Chicken | 99.50172597224667 | (1000*value_chicken)/total_value*100 | — |
| electricity | 83.0 | — | [kWh] As reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| CC_hatchling | 0.541 | — | (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content 0.541 of animal as DM. (Average carbon content of 0.175 C/kg liveweight assuming dressing of 63%, carcase composition of 70% meat, 20% fat and 10% bone; dry matter content of 15% by-product (blood, rumen, heads and hooves), 25% meat, 85% fat and 74% bone; and carbon content of 53% by-product, 53% meat, 76% fat and 7.5% bone.) |
| All_Mass_chicken | 71.39718804920915 | 1000/total_mass*100 | — |
| total_mass | 1400.6153846153845 | 1000+manure_wetmass | — |
| Protein_manure | 0.25 | — | — |
| BioC_Inputs | 572.9191599999999 | feed*CC_chickenfeed*DM_chickenfeed+BioC_hatchlings | kg biogenic carbon imported in with input animals |
| N_plant_uptake | 8.934751917221387 | N_applied*0.5 | [kg/1000kg LW] Amount of applied N that is plant available (Weidemann 2015) [kg/1000kg LW] |
| total_value | 4020030.769230769 | 1000*value_chicken+manure_wetmass*value_manure | [$/kg] Calculated based on value of each output and fraction of live weight |
| All_Pro_chicken | 27.505567928730517 | 1000*protein_chicken/total_protein*100 | — |
| N2O_direct | 0.19140674987076925 | NE*iNOF*44/28 | [kg/1000kg LW] direct N2O emissions, equation 3.B.4g_6 |
| Frac_LEACH_MS | 0.02 | — | [kg N/kg applied] Fraction of N lost through leaching and runoff, Equation 3B.5d_3, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| NH3_volat | 13.73109754774154 | NE*iFrac_GASM*17/14 | [kg/1000kg LW] |
| LPG | 17.9 | — | [litres] As reported in Table 4 of Copley and Wiedemann (2022) |
| CP | 0.23 | — | [-] Dietary crude protein fraction, Meat chicken growers, Table A.5.5.6.1, National Inventory Report 2023 |
| Energy_chicken | 6.5 | — | MJ per kg DM - needs updating |
| Lime_purity | 0.9 | — | (2,1,1,1,1,na) - fractional purity of limestone NIR 2023 (DCCEEW 2025). |
| N2O_atm_dep | 0.03198538017003323 | NE*iFrac_GASM*EF_Atm_dep*44/28 | [kg/1000kg LW] atmospheric deposition emissoins, equation 3.B.5d_1 and 3.B.5d_2 |
| All_chicken | 99.50172597224667 | iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_ECO_Chicken;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_chicken;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_en_chicken;All_Pro_chicken))) | — |
| NO3_leaching | 0.6998811940498708 | NE*MS*Frac_WET*Frac_LEACH_MS*62/14 | [kg/1000kg LW] |
| BioC_all_chicken | 470.68350031764 | (1000*DM_chicken*CC_chicken+Manure_wetmass*DM_Manure)*All_chicken/100 | Biogenic carbon allocated to retail cuts in kg C. |
| CH4_waste | 1.5299830471254636 | VS*Bo*iMCF*d_CH4*slaughter_age/broiler_weight*1000 | [kg CH4/1000kg LW] Equation 3.B.4g_2, National Inventory Report 2023, modified to consider the average age of chicken at abattoir, and divided by the live weight of chicken to obtain an emission per kilogram of liveweight |
| EF_leach | 0.011 | — | [kg N2O-N/kg N] Emission factor, Equation 3B.5d_4, National Inventory Report 2023 |