Design and fabrication of a dual powered agitator for caked litter in a small scale poultry farm.

Abstract

Poultry farming is the process of raising domesticated birds. In Uganda today, famers use various methods of poultry keeping which some are for small scale farmers and others are for large scale farmers. Poultry is practiced by many people because it's the easier way to kick poverty therefore very many people are opting to carry out extensive poultry keeping thus some methods of rearing becomes inefficient hence prompting the use of such methods Like deep litter. This system is extensively practiced. As birds drop on the litter, it increases the level of moisture and this makes the litter to cake hence secretion of ammonia and Other effects like high temperatures. Therefore, this prompts the need of agitation to cub high moisture levels and this forced the author to thick of away how to solve the problem. In this research the author used the various scientific principles, theories, equations, assumptions, procedures and- soft wares such as solid edge to come with the design of the fitter agitator. The design Was sequential where I began with quantifying and characterizing the then sizing the components followed on with analysis of forces acting on them. Force analysis led to selection of proper materials to withstand the forces to avoid failure. Mild steel was the main materials recommended to be used because of its strength and durability. Engineering drawings of the various components were drawn before the various components were constructed and then machine parts fabricated. A fully functional prototype resulted after all the above operations. Testing of the prototype was carried out and the figures revealed that the machine was 71 % efficient. The litter agitator has a total cost of 400,000. UGX which includes all the overhead costs, cost of material, machinery and hired labor to construct the machine. The cost evaluation analysis of the project was based on the net present value method and thereafter profitability index was applied to further analyze the project viability.