Development and Evaluation of a Locally Designed Solar Integrated Egg Incubator

Abstract

There is need for subsistence poultry farmers to maximize chick production to supply the increasing demand for poultry meat. This research developed and evaluated an egg incubator powered by a renewable energy source generated from solar modules. The incubator was incorporated with temperature and humidity sensors which measured and regulated the conditions suitable for the egg incubation. The direct current (DC) heater, sensor, microcontroller and DC fan provided suitable temperature and humidity for the eggs. The developed incubator was evaluated by monitoring the temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) readings over a range of time and the hatchability rate was also evaluated. The temperature within the incubator chamber ranged 37-38°C with an error margin of +0.1oC while the RH ranged between of 30-35% with an error margin of +5%. An average hatchability rate of 92% was obtained from the evaluation of the incubator. The evaluation gave a standardized temperature and relative humidity range of values necessary for incubation of eggs. The study has shown that solar energy could be used to successfully power incubator systems with good hatchability for the whole incubation period.