UTILIZATION OF REAPER AS AN ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM FOR LITTER REMOVAL INSIDE BROILER HOUSES

Abstract

A new test to identify the modified reaper has been developed for broiler litter removal. The present study describes in detail the efficacy of this new method on broiler litter removal efficiency. Tests were carried out to select the appropriate operating parameters for this purpose. The results of these experiments were graphed to show and examine the differences associated with the choice of the independent variable. It appears that the highest values of 1018.89m2/h effective field capacity and of 84.89% field efficiency were achieved at the operating conditions of 45.4%w.b. litter moisture content, 1.2km/h reaper travel speed and 2o shovel blade tilt angle. In contrast, the lowest values of 330.96m2/h effective field capacity and of 55.16% field efficiency were achieved at the operating conditions of 35.7%w.b., 0.6km/h and 8o. It could be demonstrated that the differences between the highest and lowest values were of 207.8 and 53.9% increment for the effective field capacity and field efficiency respectively. Similar results were obtained for the remaining parameters. However, in this case, the differences between the highest and lowest values were of 19.30, 210.94, 124.21 and 210.64% increment for the litter removal efficiency, reaper output, unit energy and unit operating cost respectively. It was quite evident that, from cost estimates, the labor participation revealed the highest cost parameter percentage of 44.09. Contrariwise, the lowest cost parameter percentage of 10.23 was attributed to fuel and lubrication. In all circumstances, the equipment has proved efficient and cost effective during extensive use.