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Comparative Study Between Rice Husk and Sand Incubation Techniques for Hatching the Improved Backyard Poultry Eggs

M C Sumy
Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chittagong-4202, Bangladesh

M M Islam
Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chittagong-4202, Bangladesh

M K I Khan
Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chittagong-4202, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The study was conducted to know the hatchability of poultry eggs and to estimate the profitability from 2 different incubation techniques in the Brahmanbaria and Sylhet districts of Bangladesh. A total of 16 farmers were selected, in which 8 farmers used rice husk incubation method and rest used sand incubation method. The hatchability percentage differed between rice husk (63%) and sand incubation (82%) techniques. The net return of sand incubation technique was higher than rice husk incubation technique. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) was higher in sand incubation (2.22) than rice husk incubation technique (1.72). The study revealed that sand incubation technique is cheaper and nore profitable than the rice husk incubation technique.

Keywords: Benefit cost ratio, Hatchability, Rice husk, Sand incubation method

Location: Sylhet and Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-11-2009

End Date: 00-07-2010

Program Area: Comparative study

Commodity: Poultry farm, Egg

Objectives:

The objectives: (i) to know the hatchability percentage between rice husk and sand incubation method; and (ii) to estimate the incomes and calculate the Benefit-Cost Ratios for both techniques for comparisons.

Methodology:

The study was conducted in Sylhet and Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh from November 2009 to July 2010. A total of 16 farmers was selected that had a mini hatchery of which 8 practised the rice husk incubation technique and rest used the sand incubation technique. The data on processing and operating systems and economics of the different incubation techniques were collected from a structured questionnaire. A direct visit was made to the farmer’s house by the data collector to gather information; interviews were done according to the convenience of the respondents. The mini hatchery is a local technique where heated rice husk/sand is used as a means of artificial incubation for hatching chicken/duck eggs. The mini hatchery units can vary in size with a capacity for a few hundred eggs to several thousand, and the establishment cost ranges from US$10 to US$425 per hatchery for rice husk and US$70 to US$200 per hatchery for sand technique. For rice husk incubation technique, the items needed are: incubation room, incubation box, incubation cylinder, hatching bed, petrol lamp, thermometer, bamboo tray, colour cloth, candling box and rice husk. For sand incubation technique, the items needed are: incubation box, tray (made with net), thermometer, lamp (hurricane), water pot, and sand. Rice Husk Incubation Technique The bamboo made incubation box and two (or three) cylinders (which are also bamboo made) are needed to be set up in a dark room (incubation room), possibly well insulated. The cylinders are placed in a central point. Then the incubation chamber should be filled up with rice husk. A petrol lamp (Hurricane) should always be kept in one cylinder alternately during the entire hatching period to keep the chamber warm up to 98-100° F or 37-38°C. Sand Incubation Technique An insulated box like an almirah is made up of wooden or particleboard composed of outlet for gas emission and ventilation to control temperature. Inside the box there are 3 to 5 gunny sac trays supported by the wire net which are used as egg setting and hatching trays as well. At the bottom of the incubator, there are two kerosene-based hurricane lamps placed as a source of heat and the bowl with water to maintain the humidity. The lower-most tray contains sand to be heated and give a distributed uniform temperature (98-100° F or 37-38°C) within the surrounding area of the incubator. Mini-hatchery owners buy their fertile eggs from other project participants who run small parent farms in confined production systems to ensure the pureness of the parent lines which are Fayoumi females and Rhode Island Red males. After hatching, the mini-hatchery sells their day-old chicks to Chick Rearing Unit (CRU) @ $ 0.357. Any unfertile eggs may be sold in the local market @ $0.11(1 US$= 70 BDT). Variable Costs: Cost of different inputs which are needed for operating those techniques that are treated as variable costs and are described below: i) Labour cost: Generally female members of the family were involved in the operation. The opportunity cost of labour was considered to estimate labour cost. Labour cost was calculated by using the prevailing wage rate (without food) of female labour of respective area. Firstly total working hour/ day and total working days per week. Eight working hours were equivalent to one man-day. Finally, the labour estimated man-days were multiplied by the daily wage rate of the respective area to calculate the labour cost per batch. Labour cost varied from $ 2.86 to $3.14 per man-day in those areas. ii) Cost of Rice husk/Sand: The cost of rice husk per batch varied from $2.86-$3.01 but sand cost is $ 0.07 in two study areas. iii) Cost of oil or electricity: The cost incurred on fuel i.e. kerosene and electricity was calculated by taking into account of actual amount spent by the farmers. The cost incurred $ 1.85- $ 5.0 per batch for two incubation systems. iv) Interest on working capital: Both the loan money and own fund was considered to estimate interest on working capital. Interest on own money was calculated at the rate of $.0.09% per annum in all the study areas considering the standard interest rate on saving bank account ($.0.09% per year). Fixed Cost: Cost on poultry houses and equipment were included under fixed cost. i. Cost of Housing: The cost of housing was calculated by taking into account the depreciation cost and interest on value of housing and maintenance cost. The production period of different components were considered in computing costs of depreciation and interest on capital invested by the concerned participants. ii. Cost of Equipment: In this study, cost of equipment was expressed as equipment cost, which was calculated by taking into accounts the depreciation cost and interest on value of the equipment. Statistical analysis From the collected data the mean and standard errors (SE) for the studied traits were estimated using the PROC GLM and PROC MIXED of SAS (SAS, 2000) and the differences in means were tested by using the least significant differences (LSD) test (Steel et al 1997).

Source of Information: Livestock Research for Rural Development 24 (1) 2012

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Rice husk incubation technique was a traditional method for incubation of poultry eggs in Bangladesh without electricity. Recently sand incubation method was introduced where sand was used instead of rice husk or Parched paddy rice. In the sand method, hatchability percentage and profitability was higher than that of the traditional rise husk incubation method. The main lessons learnt from this experience have a lot to do with sustainable development, as a number of conditions must apply in order for the technology to be successful. In the current study, there was also little information on the viability of DOC after hatching. Therefore, more investigations, better DOC price, appropriate training for women, low cost of hatching egg, technical support and monitoring, built-in linkages between producers of fertile eggs and the mini-hatcheries, and from the mini-hatcheries to DOCs rearers are also necessary to assist farmers to improve their productivity, and thus increasing households’ nutrition and income.

Knowledge Management: Journal