Development of an Automated Metering and Handling Machine for Poultry Feeds Material

The production performance of poultry feed and the reductions of feed losses and costs in
poultry farming depend greatly on efficient management of poultry feed. These manual
feeding systems are costly, inconsistent, labor intensive and can easily cause wastage of
feed resulting to high cost of production and poor nutritional balance. The present project
is concerned with designing and building of an automated metering and handling
machine to poultry feed materials evaluation. Components of the system include a hopper, auger mechanism, weighing system, and two electric motors control system that is used
to meter feed and move it. Important construction parameters like angle of repose, material flow and structural stability were paid much attention. The system also included
control elements like frequency inverters, electromagnetic contactors, timers, knife
switches among others as a way of pushing feeding to be automated. The lifting system
was also made up of a crane hook and stress analysis was done on the construction
through the theory of curved beams to get good structural integrity. The analysis of the
performance evaluations based on metering capability and volumetric efficiencies and
mass discharge rate records confirm the effectiveness of the system in minimizing feed
losses, provision of accurate feed dosage and better nutrition of the poultry. Analysis
showed that the machine can provide feed at an accurate metering rate and very low loses. The optimization of performance variables used Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
which provided the optimum conditions through which input variables are set to
maximize efficiency and accuracy and to reduce waste. Feed distribution precision, reduced dependency on labor, and minimization of the cost of operations, which makes
the mentioned automation a scalable and sustainable option in the contemporary poultry
business