Factor Analysis of Poultry Birds De-Feathering Machines

Abstract

Some concerns had been expressed over the success rate of the De-feathering machine (DM) in Nigeria. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate DM in selected poultry farms in Ekiti State, Nigeria, and consider the factors that inhibit their viability. This study seeks to verify the success rate and identify factors that pose challenges to DM and provide a solution to their intercorrelations. Kendall Coefficient of Concordance (KCC) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was the design framework used to investigate the identified factors that influence DM. The KCC was used to analyse the data matrix generated by 12 Judges who ranked the twenty-eight identified factors that influenced DM in ascending order, upon which basis an index of concordance in ranking among the judges was computed as w = 0.70. PCA was used to further analysed questionnaires crafted with the twenty-eight well-ordered factors, purposively selected, using statistisXL version 2021.2 software. Also, the result obtained by PCA indicates that factor reduction was achieved from twenty-eight variables to seven clusters using a scree plot graph. Furthermore, Cost of Material cluster 5 (consisting of dual factors; ‘stainless steel’ and ‘material selection’) wielded the highest factors loading of 0.847 and 0.779 respectively. This study has helped to justify unsatisfactory DM operating costs among poultry farmers in Nigeria and clarify challenges associated with the high cost of material selection in DM design.