Evaluation of the potential locally isolated feather degrading bacteria for chicken feather degradation in vermicomposting

The increase of chicken production as one of affordable protein sources have led to increase in waste including chicken feather. Chicken feather is rich in keratinous protein which is a fibrous and insoluble structural protein. Conventional waste management is costly and not environmentally friendly. Recent studies found keratin degrading bacteria aids in degrading chicken feathers. Hence this study focusses on the locally isolated degrading bacteria (Serratia spp.) as composting agent along with Eudrilus eugeniae and the efficiency in the biodegradation of chicken feathers in vermicompost. Also, the physicochemical properties of vermicompost affect by composting agents whether applied singly or in combination. Serratia spp. was isolated from soil sample in coop area and identified through 16s rDNA sequencing followed by inoculating in pre-composted vermicompost. Physicochemical properties, microbial enzyme activity, feather degradation and earthworm population were observed and analysed statistically. Significant differences were observed in keratinase enzyme activity of isolate 5 at 3.8 U/mL which is 80.9% higher than isolate 15 (p < 0.05). Therefore isolate 5 was selected for further analysis. T3 (Mushroom Media Residue:Banana Trunk:Chicken Feather:Chicken Dung = 6:1:1.5:1.5) shows higher degradation coefficient as well as earthworm population significantly. However, there is no significant difference between treatments in pH value and EC of compost. N,P,K, Ca and Mg of T1-T4 is significantly higher than T5-T8 whereas organic matter content of T1-T4 is significantly lower than T5-T8 due to higher ratio of chicken dung. Further optimization of the environmental condition like pH, incubation time and temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources of isolate 5 (Serratia spp.) was recommended to enhance the keratinase production. The overall findings suggest that isolate 5 has a strong potential for biotechnological applications in chicken feather waste management. Further studies are recommended to optimize production conditions and evaluate the potential of isolate 5 for industrial-scale applications.