DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-COST STYRO

BOX INCUBATOR

In partial fulfillmemt of the requirement in

NIXON BAQUIRAN

NIEL BRYAN LORICA

MANNY OSIO

ADVISER

JANUARY, 2023
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The Problem and Its Background

The poultry business is one of the best-rising and most beneficial businesses in

Philippines and it is a promising sector for poverty reduction in most of the different cities in the

Philippines, for mitigating the need for protein, the people of this country eat fish as it is

available here because of being a riverine country. Nowadays the demand for fish is increasing

day by day as the population is increasing at a very alarming rate. On the contrary, the rivers are

losing their ecological balance for supplying enough fish due to the several causes of water

pollution. People are using their land for household construction, building, and industrial

purposes largely. So, the commercial fisheries also can’t contribute to this sector as demand. As

a result, the availability of fish is decreasing which increasing the price of fish in the local

market. In this situation, poultries are taking a large part to fulfil the demand for protein in this

region. So, the commercial fisheries also can’t contribute to this sector as demand. As a result,

the availability of fish is decreasing which increasing the price of fish in the local market. In this

situation, poultries are taking a large part to fulfill the demand for protein in this region. The

hatching is an obvious part of any poultry farm. Several technological advancements have

resulted in the employment of artificial techniques for incubation eggs. This artificial process has

been around for thousands of years, and it has only kept improving with time. The PIC is a type

of microcontroller that can process data from a sensor and will execute the control element to

change the condition of SEIS. Chukwu et al. designed and fabricated an automatic temperature

regulating egg-incubator using the principles of thermoelectricity. This is aimed at solving the
problem of temperature fluctuation usually experience by poultry farmers which leads to

production loss. Its workability is about 70% efficient . These incubators are comparatively

sophisticated by its manufacture and also complex to operate comparing the incubator developed

in this study. Also, the expense of the developed incubator is also less than the two incubators.

That is why to mitigate the problems of the traditional incubation process an automatic electrical

incubator was needed to be developed which should be low cost as well as environment friendly.

In this study, a micro controller-based automatic incubator was developed by using locally

available materials, and then the hatching performance was evaluated. Artificially, in an

incubator, environmental conditions must be created by poultry farmers to do this operation

within the desired temperature and relative humidity range. An incubator is essential to provide

stable warm incubation temperatures. A simple incubator can be made from a Styrofoam box

raised above a heating pad until the desired temperature is achieved. Also an aquarium filled

with water can provide stable heat from a submersible aquarium heater. A variety of other

incubators can be purchased or fabricated. Length of incubation is temperature and species

dependent. Higher temperatures sometimes decrease incubation time. Fertile eggs are creamy

white with minute blood vessels visible when candled and should slightly swell in size during

incubation. Fiber optic candling devices are excellent for checking for fertility. Infertile eggs

often grow mold, desiccate, collapse, and are dull yellowish white. If the eggs look good and

start dimpling, they could be drying out. Vermiculite will desiccate during incubation; a little

misting or water addition should allow the eggs to fill out. If they continue to dimple with humid

conditions, they probably are no longer fertile or never were. One can visually check the eggs,

but do not pick them up or roll them around. It is best to allow hatchlings to emerge from the egg

on their own, which can take 12 to 48 hours. Until the yolk sac is resorbed (usually within
several days), it is best to house them on clean damp paper towels. An Egg incubator is one of

the most recent developments that provide jobs opportunity especially for those who want to be

excellent farmers. The egg incubator system is designed to automatically control the humidity

and temperature of the incubator for different types of eggs. The main purpose of this egg

incubator is to take over the animal job to incubate an egg to hatching.

Statement of the Problem/ Objectives of the study

The study attempts to develop low-cost styro box incubator to determine:

1. To develop low-cost egg incubator

2. To test the efficiency of the prototype in term of:

a. Capacity of the egg

b. No. Of days to hatch the egg

c. Energy consumption

3. Asses/Reception

a. Durability

b. Aesthetic

c. Economy aspect

Significant of the Study

 The result of this study will be beneficial to the Poultry Farmers, Future Researcher and

to those who want to use low-cost styro box as a incubator. This study provides information

on how to use and make low-cost styro box as a incubator. The study aims to benefit the

following:

Poultry farmer. This study will surely help and benefits the farmer for them to know

and be knowledgeable in how to use and make some good and Eco friendly low-cost styro

box as a incubator as a easy way to hatch eggs of their chicken, ducklings etc.

Future Researcher. The result can encourage the future researcher to conduct the same

studies and it will helps them to more knowledgeable about the thing that they want to know

and they can use this research as their basis on their study.

Scope and Delimitation

The study covers the level of awareness of the poultry farmer. The researcher will

conduct a survey in a certain poultry farm the answers and data analysis by using descriptive

method. The respondent will be 10 selected poultry farmers in . Owing the aforementioned

constraints findings are applicable only to the areas that were covered by the study.

Definition of Terms
 For better understanding in the study, Researcher gave several terms that were defined

conceptually and operationally as used in the study.

Poultry Farming – use in the study, is raising of birds domestically or commercially,

primarily for meat and eggs but also for feathers.

Hatching – use in the study is refers to the production of baby chicks. In early days eggs

were hatched by placing them under broody hens.

Egg incubator – use in the study, is a machine that creates the perfect conditions for an

egg to incubate and hatch successfully.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature

According to Schertenleib, Sigrist et. Al(2019) Incubators are essential for a range of

culture-based microbial methods for assessing drinking water quality. Under Sustainable
Development Goal 6.1, governments have committed to regularly report on the bacteriological

quality of drinking water at the national level. In addition, operational monitoring of water

infrastructure is regularly undertaken at the local or regional level. These surveillance and

monitoring campaigns are often in remote locations where infrastructure and resources are

limited. In these contexts, conventional incubators may be inadequate or unavailable. Field

incubators are commercially available, but manufacturers usually offer a fixed design and use is

limited to specific settings or sample sizes. There is, thus, a need for an adaptable incubator that

offers the advantages of laboratory-based models while remaining suitable for field applications

(Table). The purpose of this project was to develop an adaptable, low-cost and portable incubator

that can be built using readily available components, and designed to combine the advantages of

both conventional and fieldbased models.

This incubator prototype is low-cost (<$300 when the material is purchased in

Switzerland), adaptable to a variety of volumes and field conditions, and can be built from

different materials. It can be used in both established laboratories with grid power or in remote

settings when powered by a car battery. It is useful as an equipment option for field laboratories

in areas with limited water quality monitoring resources. Practitioners with limited capacity can

use this incubator to establish permanent or seasonal laboratories at reasonable costs. Through its

use, it is possible to increase the number of laboratories in remote areas, making efforts to

conduct regular water quality surveillance or punctual monitoring of system operations more

feasible.

In Gibso, Tran et. Al (2014) research Based on the survey results from India and

Ethiopia, cost reduction and infection control were concerns that took priority over cooling. For
this reason, design and experiments revolved around constructing a suitable infant incubator

using low-cost disposable materials with high insulating properties while consuming minimal

power. The current prototype design features double-paned cardboard walls with a thickness of

12.7 mm to increase the flat-pack ability. This effectively increases manufacturing and shipping

efficiency. The lid was made from triple-paned clear PVC film sheets for increased visibility and

insulation. To make the baby chamber entirely biodegradable, alternative materials to PVC such

as cellulose acetate plastic sheets are being researched.

At laboratory temperatures of about 22 °C, the incubator was able to achieve a steady

37.5 °C using 30 W of power on average. In India, where the average temperature is much

higher, the power consumption will be significantly reduced, making a small battery more than

sufficient to power the device. The worst-case scenario was also considered, in which ambient

temperatures can reach as low as 15 °C. Studies at different temperatures and humidity are

ongoing. Operating the incubator at lower ambient temperatures can be easily achieved with

larger batteries that will be able to provide enough power for this application. Alternatively,

increasing the number of batteries or using recharging methods such as solar power are possible.

The incubator is also equipped with a cotton bed liner that covers all sides of the interior

and will be changed as needed. This serves as an additional line of defense against infection as

well as a layer of heat insulation. The incubator lid is being redesigned to incorporate an optional

mosquito screen to prevent vector-borne diseases. In addition, we are also exploring an open-air

radiant warmer option for the incubator. The incubator design was originally intended for

hospital use only, but after surveying end target users, it has been determined that the incubator

can be extended to home use because of its low maintenance.

 Oluyemi and Roberts recommended that the minimum and maximum temperature for the

first eighteen days should be between 37.7℃ and 39.3℃ respectively. After the eighteen days of

incubation, the temperature should be reduced from 37.8 ℃ to 36.0 ℃ until the chickens were

hatched. Henceforth, for the whole period of incubation, the temperature should be maintained

within the range of 36℃ and 39℃ which is following the report by other researchers. However,

Lourens et al. ; King’ori ; Geneve acknowledged that overheating of the egg is much more

critical than under heating, it will assist in speeding up the rate of growth causing abnormal

embryos growth in the initial stages, and lower the percentage of the hatchability. Running the

incubator at 41℃ for 15 minutes will seriously affect the embryos while running it at 35℃ for 3

to 4 hours will only slow the chicken‘s metabolic rate. A rise in temperature above 40.5 °C is

fatal. A drop in temperature will delay the hatching but is less harmful than increasing the

temperature. The production of the chickens from an emergent embryo is a very sensitive task,

which usually needs appropriate monitoring. Komolafe et al. Oluyemi and Roberts suggested

that the minimum and maximum humidity values within eighteen days should be 52% and 62%

respectively. After the first eighteen days, the relative humidity should be improved from 55% to

71% until the end of the period of the incubation process. Henceforth, for the whole period of the

incubation, the relative humidity should vary between 52% and 71%.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the research design, the sample, the instruments, the data

collection procedure, and the plan for data analysis.

Research Design

The study used Descriptive method by getting information that were collected without

changing the environment. It attempts to describe the Development of low-cost styro box

incubator.

Research Locale

The respondents of this study are the 10 selected poultry farmer in Alicia Isabela. Sy.

2022-2023, Alicia Isabela.

The Sample

This study used Random Sampling Procedure. In this technique, the population has an

equal chance of being selected as subjects. The entire process of sampling is done in single

step with each subject selected independently of the other members of the population.

The respondents of this study are the Poultry Farmers from Alicia, Isabela. 10 selected

and randomly chosen as respondents of the study.

The Instrument(s)

Survey is the major instrument used in this study. It was designed to obtain the

information of Development of low-cost styro box incubator.. The instrument used was a

researcher-made questionnaire to gather the needed data. The draft of the questionnaires was

drawn out based on the researcher’s readings, previous studies, and professional literature,

published and unpublished study that is relevant.

DATA GATHERING

The researcher provides the questionnaires to the Poultry Farmers because their

involvement to this study the handling of questionnaire will be done personally by the

researchers and facilitated by the retrieval of respondence. The researcher collected the

answer questionnaire. After that Data tallying.

DATA ANALYSIS

Data were gathered through questionnaire among the Poultry Farmers of Alicia, Isabela.

This was summarized and analyze. The responses on the questionnaires were tallied. Data

collected were interpreted through analysis of narrative and descriptive report.