Solar-Powered Trombe Wall Brooding of Day-old Poultry Chicks

W.I. Okonkwo, Emenike Ejiogu, O. Ojike, G.I. Ezenne, I.K. Idika and A.U. Onyechi

Background and Objective: The importance of heat supply in regulating the body temperature of poultry day-old chicks' during brooding operation can never be overestimated. In developing countries, small and medium poultry farms often use kerosene bush lamps or stoves to regulate the body temperature of brooding day-old chicks. Energy poverty and high heating costs often limit the scope of poultry farming, despite the fact that there are many poultry farmers. Using solar energy to brood day-old chicks has proven to be a reliable and attractive solution for sustainable poultry production. Solar energy offers cheap and clean energy in comparison to conventional methods for brooding poultry. This study was designed to develop a solar-powered Trombe wall poultry brooding system for day-old chicks. Materials and Methods: The system consists of a Trombe wall solar energy heat collector, a pebble bed heat storage unit and a brooding room that can handle 300 day-old chicks. The poultry brooding system was coupled with a purposeful built-in data logger powered by a 100 W mono-crystalline solar panel with an Arduino-mega microcontroller. The purpose was to monitor the real-time brooding conditions in the brooding system. Three hundred day-old chicks were used in an experiment to evaluate the physical and biological performance of the poultry brooding system. Results: Results of the experiment showed that the temperature was between 28-35°C and relative humidity was between 56-82%, while the ambient temperature was ranged from 15-33°C and the relative humidity was ranged from 53-95%. Minimum and maximum values of solar radiation intensity was ranged from 0-548 W/m² during the evaluation period. The result of the biological performance showed a 2% mortality rate at the end of a nine-week brooding session. In poultry brooding operations, solar energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Healthy and lively chicks were produced under solar energy brooding conditions. They attracted higher commercial value over the conventional brooded chicks. Conclusion: In poultry production, the use of solar energy can help revolutionize the present-day poultry production industry. Using the results of the study, field scientists, government officials and decision makers may develop rational policies to improve and boost poultry production in general.

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