Design and Development of a Poultry Litter Raking Machine for Small Farms

Abstract

Poultry industries are one of the profitable agro-industries that can effectively tackle the growth of the economic sector. One of the more promising sources of biomass is poultry manure, which has the potential to be utilised as a green substitute for fossil fuels as well as a natural fertiliser and fuel for the production of biogas. The present paper discusses the developmental process of a new machine for poultry farms. The new machine can be used to rake the poultry litter on the floor bed of poultry farms at periodic intervals with ease of use and minimum disturbance to birds. The device or machine or arrangement, or apparatus can be used on poultry farms of all sizes under all seasons by people of all age groups. The paper also represents the steps followed in the identification of the need for the machine to the final level of commercialisation of the innovation. Experimentation has been carried out to compare the raking process both manually and using a litter raking machine.