Caloric values (massic energy of combustion) of poultry litter coming from the chicken farm "Cantos Blancos" (Guadalajara-Spain) were determined by static bomb calorimetry. These values correspond to samples treated in different conditions of drying-up. The massic energy of combustion of the "dry samples" was 14 447 kJ/kg and for "wet samples" decreased linearly with increasing water content. The optimum conditions to use these waste product as an economic fuel were also established. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.