1.
Introduction
Poultry is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in
India today. While the production of agricultural crops has been rising at a
rate of 1.5 to 2 percent per annum, that of eggs and broilers has been rising
at a rate of 8 to 10 percent per annum. As a result, India is now the world's
fifth largest egg producer and the eighteenth largest producer of broilers.
Driving this expansion are a combination of factors - growth in per capita
income, a growing urban population and falling real poultry prices.
The trend in poultry production has been toward large commercial flocks.
With this trend has come an increase in using of mechanization to save
time and labour, this includes mechanical cleaning equipment; automatic
and semiautomatic feeding and watering equipment are common in
poultry enterprises. The use of these types of equipment makes it
possible for large number of bird to be handled in the operation. These
types of equipments are elucidated in this paper. Controlled feeding and
automating a controlled feeding system of broiler for optimum nutrition is
a beneficial step and must be applied in poultry enterprises .
The author had resorted to the faculty of agriculture central library, the
national agricultural library, and the international network searching for
the following keywords: Mechanization, Poultry Farms, Facilities,
Automatic Feeding, Watering, Manure Handling equipments, Machines,
Poultry Harvesting, Poultry Transportation, Fans, and Mechanized
Ventilation. Moreover, the author had visited some poultry farms and
watched the feeding systems, watering systems, manure handling
systems.
2. Poultry Farms Mechanization
2.1. Poultry-House Equipment
A poultry house is not complete without the accessory equipments or
features that make it suitable for the particular kind of production for
which it is intended. Pieces of equipment that are built in as a part of the
house should be simple, few in number, adequate in size, removable for
cleaning, and conveniently and systematically placed in the house; so
that their care will take a minimum of labour.
2.1.1. Nests
The desirable qualities of a nest are that it be roomy, easily cleaned and
sprayed, dark, cool and well ventilated, and conveniently located. Dark
nests are preferred because the hens like seclusion for laying. Dark
nests also reduce the likehood of egg eating. Some arrangement for
shutting the fowls out at night prevents them from roosting in the nests
and fouling them. This they are prone to do, especially at molting time, in
order to escape being crowded by other birds in the perch .
Lindley and Whitaker (1996) stated that, nests are banked in lines along
outside wall or on either side of a center alley for convenient manual egg
collection; the nest is available for 4-5 birds.
some poultrymen like the “community” type of nest, which is really a
covered box about two feet wide and six feet long, community-type nest
has an egg conveyor located along the front, the system can be
extended to complete loop in a 350-feet house.
2.1.2. Perches
The perches should allow from 8 to 10 inches of room for each bird and
15 to 18 inches apart to ensure comfort. The most common material for
perches is 2 by 3 or 2 by 4 in. lumber. This may be laid on the side or
placed on edge. In either case its well to round the upper edge.
2.1.3. Cage Systems
Lindley and Whitaker (1996) indicates that, cage systems may be
classified by the number of levels of cages and the method manure
elimination from cage area to in-house storage. With the advent of
controlled environment housing, cage designs continued to be improved.
Three- and four-tier systems and now five-tier systems become popular
providing significant increases in bird density within a house. Six tiers
require special elevated people-movers to manage the top levels. The
most common cage sizes are 400 mm (16 in.) or 600 mm (24 in.) across
the front and 450 mm (20 in.) deep. The 410´510 mm (16´20 in.) will
house six birds (53.3 in.2/bird), and the 610´ 510 mm (24´20 in.) will
house nine birds (53.3 in.2/bird). The European battery cage is usually
50´50 cm (19.7´19.7 in.) and will normally house seven birds (55.4
in.2/bird). Manure elimination is performed using slanted manure
collection boards between levels to prevent manure from entering lower
cages causing dirty eggs. Manure was scraped from manure boards
from the aisle on a hanging system or with mechanical scraper on floor
stand systems. The next innovation was the slant back cage,
where the backs of the cages were slanted toward the front of the cage.
A plastic curtain on the slant back, extending to within 25 to 50 mm (1 to
2 in.) of the cage above, eliminating the heed for manure board and a
mechanical scraper between levels of cages. Four-tier systems should
be equipped with a bump rail located 410 to 610 mm (16 to 24 in.) above
the aisle and above the bottom egg tray toward the aisle to protect the
bottom egg tray from physical damage.
Charles et al. (1994) specified that, the current recommendations for
cage floors are to be flexible floors of moderate slope better than rigid
steep slope floors, if welded wire steep slopes are used, they should
have a horizontal collecting cradle, that to minimize shell damage. The
principal design constraints based on allowing 450 cm 2/bird and 10
cm/bird feeder and a belt scraper as a manure handling system.
2.1.4. Mechanized Poultry Feeding Systems
the design of feeding equipment varies considerably on different farms.
No matter what style of construction is used, the feeding devices should
be easy to fill, easy to clean, built to avoid waste, so arranged that the
fowls cannot roost on them, and constructed in such a manner that so
long as they contain any feed at all the fowls will be able to reach it.
Automatic or mechanical feeders are standard equipment on large
commercial egg and broiler farms. They save a great deal of labour and
keep fresh feed available to the fowls at all times. All large poultry units
are virtually totally dependent upon efficient and reliable mechanized
systems of feeding birds.
3.1. Mechanized Feeding of Caged Birds
The following mechanized feeding systems are used in multi-tier cage
laying systems.
1. Traveling Hopper
Feed is tored in one or more metal feed bins outside the building
from where is automatically carried by conveyor to the feed hoppers
at the end of each cage row. Traveling hoppers ride on a track
located above the cages or on the floor and dispense feed directly
into the trough. Traveling hoppers require enough capacity to
dispense feed the entire length of the cage row. Long rows make it
increasingly difficult to either carry enough feed or spread it thinly
enough to uniformly feed the entire row. Most troughs are flat bottom
with one flared side. Traveling hoppers are easily automated to
operate at desired intervals with timers and automatically refilled
between feedings. Generally traveling hoppers are lower initial cost
than closed loop feeders.
Bebb (1990) said that, with traveling hoppers a series of tapered
hoppers, one per layer of cages is filled up at one end of the row of
cages by an overhead auger. Hoppers are moved along slowly by cable
winch and feed is distributed to a depth set on a feed gate at the bottom
of each hopper. When the hopper unit reaches the far end a reversing
switch effects automatic return of the unit for refilling.
1. Conveyor Feeder
Lindley and Whitaker (1996) mentioned that, conveyor feeder are
also called automated closed loop mechanical feeders which can be
used in any of the cage systems. Moreover they added that, there
are five common types:
a) Flat-link chain is a heat-treated steel link with a loop (hook) formed
from the center of the link and extending to catch the next link. The
connecting loop is nearly closed so that the chain links do not easily
disconnect, but can be forced to make splices and repairs. The chain
travels at 100 to 500 mm/s (20 to 100 fpm) depending on user
preference with 200 to 300 mm/s (40 to 60 fpm) being common.
b) Drag auger is a hardened spring coil similar to a coil spring except
constructed with flat wire instead of a round wire. It operates in a closed
loop, and as the name implies, it is dragged around the circuit. The
auger is powered by a toothed gear located above the auger and
successively engaging each flight of the auger. Ninety degree corners
are curved tubes where the auger slides around the curve.
c) Cable and button system is a stranded flexible steel cable with 1-in.
diameter plastic buttons molded in place on two inches intervals.
The cable is pulled with a split toothed sprocket which engages the
buttons on the cable. Standard corners are 90 o with a cast contoured
wheel and are enclosed in a pressed steel housing. The cable ends are
connected with a swivel fitting which allows the cable to rotate (twist)
naturally as the load increases or decreases. Standard speed is 0.5 m/s
(100 fpm) and a circuit of 305 m (1000 ft) requires 1 hp (0.75 kW).
3.2. Mechanized Feeding of Floor/Slat Fed
1. Centerless Auger Feed Distribution System
the Centerless auger feed distribution system
is a simple system suitable for a relatively limited number of lines of
feeders. The main advantage over most cable and disc conveyors is that
no separate internal supply hopper is needed, not any separate room to
house it, and bends of around 3 m can be accommodated without the
need for corner units. A typical system would also have a much greater
carrying capacity.
1. Cable and Disc Feed Distribution System
cable and disc conveyors are not only quieter running than auger
conveyors but also accommodate a complete circuit of up to 500 m
needing only a single drive unit, using conveyors of 35-60 mm in
diameter.
2. Chain Feeders
the system comprises a supply hopper with drive unit; one or more
complete circuits of feed trough mounted on adjustable legs,
conveyor chain, special corner units, and rotary screen feed
cleaner and control system. Depending on the number of circuits
to be served the supply hopper sited in a room adjacent to the
birds, will hold 70-120 kg feed, but this can be increased to 600-
700 kg by the use of extension sides. The chain runs
through the bottom of the hopper, driven by a motor (of 350-800
kW, depending on chain speed and length) through a gearbox and
sprocket drive.
3. Pan Feeders
Pan feeders offer a number of advantages over chain type trough
feeders . Pan feeders increase the ability of birds to move over the
whole floor area. Also, pan feeders offer around one third
more feeder space than the same length of trough. The system
comprises a series of circular floor mounted or suspended pan
feeders supplied by either cable and disc tube conveyor or
centerless auger conveyor.
3.1. Watering Equipment
Poultry should be provided with sufficient cool drinking water
without wastage. The drinking trough should be easily reached. water is
critical to egg production and bird comfort. The water system in each
house must be adequate, reliable, and free of contamination from feed,
manure, and bacterial growth.
1. Water-Supply Systems
Laying Hens
In cage-breeding systems the dripping system is used or the
suckling drinker into which the water is led by gravity from constant-level
tanks located at the end of each battery. In the cage two drippers should
be available to each hen. A device for water recovery (cup or gutter) is
fitted below each drinker . This contributes to obtain dry droppings.
Dripping systems (pipette) fixed on a feeding pipe and hanging inside
the building, supplied trough gravity, or round drinkers can be used.
Height above floor level depends on the size of the fowls and on the
period (either starting or breeding).
5. Egg Collection Equipment
that, cages contribute to quality egg production by maintaining as closely
as possible the characteristics of the egg as laid. In a cage, the eggs
immediately roll away from the body heat of the birds to a holding tray or
collection belt. Eggs roll out the front of the cages either onto an egg tray
for hand pick up or onto a collecting belt. Mechanical collectors employ
belts to carry the eggs to the end of the cage rows where they are raised
or lowered to a single level and carried by cross conveyor to the egg
packing or processing room. Cross conveyors are classified as belt or
rod type. Rod conveyors provide many advantages over the belt type.
Most dirt and debris that would occur on a belt will fall between the rods
which results in a more efficient use of automated packing machinery.
Rod type conveyors can convey eggs at inclines up to 22 degree and
can accommodate variations in levels between buildings and/or packing
rooms. Many of the rod conveyor designs can also make turns up to 180
degree which eliminates some transfer of eggs from one conveyor to
another.
An automated egg collection system should be made in terms of the
initial cost versus potential savings in labour. The labour saved by the
use of mechanical egg collector is significant only if the eggs are carried
directly to a fully automated processing machine.
6.1. House Care Equipment
a successful poultry house must be clean, dry, well ventilated, and,
above all, comfortable for the hens. Good management aimed at
maintaining these conditions will pay dividends in sustained production.
1. Manure Handling System
Lindley and Whitaker (1996) stated that, the stacked cage designs
must be equipped with dropping boards which need to be scraped every
one to two days to remove the manure, or be equipped with plastic belts
that convey the manure to the end of the cage row. Several types of
mechanical scrapers designed to be used with specific cages are
available. The manure which drops from the cages may be handled in
one of three ways:
1- Manure collects on the floor beneath the cages and is scraped on
a two or three week cycle with scraper blades mounted on a small
tractor.
2- Manure collects in shallow pits, 12 to 14 in. (300 to 350 mm) deep,
which are then scraped with cable-pulled pit scrapers on a daily
basis. Stainless steel cables are commonly used to prevent corrosion
and frequent replacement. Flushing systems may be used instead of
scrapers.
The manure system dictates much of the building design. For example,
if the flat floor, tractor scraping system is used, the cages must
be suspended from the building trusses, adding a considerable weight
that enters into the truss design and spacing.
Each of these systems can resent problems such as groundwaters in the
deep pits, cable slippage, wear and breaking with the scrapers, and wet
spots and scraper breakdowns with the flat floor system. But with good
management, any of them will work satisfactory. A major factor in
deciding which system is best for a specific case is the manner and
timing of manure disposal once it is out of the house.
7. Mechanical Poultry Harvesting
The catching operation still remains one of the few aspects of broiler
production that is not very automated. Overall, most birds,
around the world, are loaded manually; however, this is the starting to
change as poultry companies beginning to automate this step.
One of the earliest designs was the large foam rubber paddle that was a
self-propelled harvester. The system captured the birds with large foam
rubber paddles that rotated down on top of the birds and then pushed
them onto a conveyor belt. The belt carried the birds to a loading
platform where they were deposited into modules made of a series of
layered compartments that were carried on the back of the machine. The
whole assembly was mounted on a truck-powered vehicle, which
maneuvered inside the barn through almost any type of litter.
A vacuum system was an attempt to use the pneumatic system that
could best be described as a large vacuum cleaner. The birds were
suspended in air as they passed through a tubing system while there
feathers helped to prevent or reduce bruising. The birds were
placed by hand in a funnel-like aperture and pulled by suction through
tubing into the crates on a truck. Problems with this system were
encountered when birds were placed in the funnel too quickly, resulting
in malfunction and unacceptable injuries to the birds.
8.Truck Designs for Broilers Transportation
Minimizing stress during transport is an important welfare and meat
quality aspect. The birds may be exposed to different stressors during
transportation including thermal variations, vibration, motion,
acceleration, withdrawal of feed and water, noise and social disruption.
The combined effect of these factors may range from mild discomfort
and aversion to death. The major stress factor, during transportation,
seems to result from changes in environmental temperature. Dissipation
of temperature and humidity gradients and proper distribution of
the thermal load within the truck should be a primary objective when
designing a new truck or improving the ventilation system of an existing
truck. The typical modern broiler transporter with a modular container
system can carry approximately 6000 birds of 2 kg body weight.
Stocking density was 53 kg/m2 using crates 1.3´0.7´0.25 m in size,
loaded with 21-22 birds in the summer and up to 23 birds in the winter.
The crates are preferred to be perforated by vertical slits of 10 mm wide
at 55 mm center spacing. The truck had a solid headboard and a roof,
but the rear must be opened.
The use of forced ventilation requires the curtains to be closed at all
times to ensure adequate air movement in all parts of the vehicle. The
power required to drive the fans was also a constraint, the
installation of a portable 240 V generator was necessary. The fan
ventilation system was designed to assist the natural ventilation that
occurs on the vehicle due to the vehicle motion. For the lorry, the air
movement is from back to the front driven by the low-pressure regions
around the headboard extracting air from the lorry. The movement of air
in the trailer is generally considered as air extracted from the rear of the
trailer and drawn in near the front and along the length of the trailer.
9. Recommendations
The use of Mechanization in poultry farms save time and labour and
provide high efficiency; furthermore, it provides more care, minimum
ration losses. The following recommendations must be taken in
consideration when planning for poultry enterprises:
- The provision of fully automated facilities.
- The feeding devices should be easy to fill, easy to clean, built to avoid
waste, and so arranged.
- Poultry should be provided with sufficient cool drinking water without
wastage. The drinking trough should be easily reached.
- Successful poultry house must be clean, dry, well ventilated; this can
be performed by provision of mechanized manure handling system and
mechanized ventilation system.
- The provision of mechanical harvesting to prevent time wastage
injuries when harvesting poultry.
10. CONCLUSION
A major constraint affecting the growth of the poultry industry in India is the lack
of basic infrastructure such as storage and transportation, including cold chain. As
a result, there are wild price fluctuations in the prices of poultry products, i.e.,
eggs and broilers. Another constraint to growth is an inefficient marketing system.
The presence of so many market intermediaries harms both the producer and the
consumer. A third problem relates to the price availability of feed resources.
Maize or corn plays a major role in broiler production, as it constitutes 50 to 55
percent of broiler feed. As the broiler industry is growing at the rate of 15 percent
per annum, the demand for maize is thus likely to increase. Presently India grows
only 11 million tonnes of maize and only 5 million tonnes are available for poultry,
which is not sufficient if the current growth rate of the industry is to be
maintained.
The policy measures that are required to improve the poultry industry must
involve: (a) improving infrastructure facilities, which will help not only to stabilize
the price of poultry products in the domestic market, but will also make them
available in remote areas; (b) creating an efficient marketing channel that will help
provide remunerative prices to producers (in other words, India's marketing set-up
should also grow along professional lines); and (c) increasing maize production,
which will involve using GM (genetically modified) seed varieties or,
alternatively, will necessitate finding other sources of feed ingredients that can
replace maize.
REFERENCES
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%20National%20Action%20Plan-%20Poultry-%202022%20by%2012-
12-2017.pdf
Tillie, M. 1999. Equipment and Control, p. 115-146. In: E. Bartalie, A.
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