Onsite Hypochlorous Acid in Broiler Production. Feed conversion, mortality and house ammonia: what the research shows, what it does not, and what it costs. October 2026, revision 1.
Written for broiler growers, integrator live-production managers and poultry veterinarians. It reports the published research as it stands — including the results that do not support a claim — alongside field results from a Pilgrim’s Pride grower using EcoloxTech systems in its drinking water and in-house misting since September 2023.
What is inside
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 1. What this paper claims, and what it does not | The device position, research reported under each study’s own conditions, and no animal-health claims for any product. |
| 2. Executive summary | Water-line hygiene, feed conversion, mortality and ammonia, with the strength of evidence for each. |
| 3. The operational problem in broiler houses | Water lines, drinkers and litter, ventilation, downtime and placement, and how contract settlement turns them into money. |
| 4. Feed conversion | Published trials, including a 2025 controlled trial that found no difference, and a Pilgrim’s Pride grower’s three settlements since installation against matched farms. |
| 5. Mortality | German field trials, a hatching-egg study and the 2025 trial, side by side. |
| 6. Ammonia | An 82% reduction in exhaust-air ammonia in a 2025 field study, EcoloxTech’s own 30 ppm in-house misting results, a lab study where litter spraying raised ammonia, and the safeguards for misting with birds present. |
| 7. Where it is used, and the rules that apply | Drinking water, line cleaning, exhaust air, sanitation, biosecurity and hatchery; EPA, FDA, integrator and OSHA. |
| 8. Cost analysis | A break-even model for a four-house farm: about $4,300 a year, covered by a feed-conversion change under one point. |
| 9. Implementation | Baseline, install, a three-flock house-against-house trial, then decide. |
| 10. What it does not fix | Ammonia inside the house, drinker management, cleanout, disease programs and brooding; plus eight questions to ask any supplier. |
What this paper claims, and what it does not
The cover of the paper carries this in full. In short: an EcoloxTech system is a device that produces a hypochlorous acid solution on site, it is regulated by the EPA as a device, and we make no efficacy claims for it or for the solution it produces. Published research is reported under each study’s own conditions, attributed to its authors; EcoloxTech’s own field results are labelled as such. Nothing in the paper is a claim to improve feed conversion, reduce mortality or lower ammonia on any particular farm, or to prevent or treat disease in birds. Documented disinfection claims come from HOCl-AS200 (EPA Reg. No. 101112-1) used according to its label.
Related reading
The sector programme is at poultry and eggs, with companion pages on compliance and audits and ROI and savings. The generator in the cost analysis is the EcoloxTech 300.