Low cost ‘Egg Incubator’ developed
| Date :10-Apr-2019 |
By Sandeep Pradhan RAIPUR:
Chhattisgarh will soon be witnessing easy and regular availability of protein-rich breed of chicken ‘Kadaknath’ as Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in insurgency-hit Kanker district has developed a low cost ‘Egg Incubator’ that will promote the fowl’s commercial farming. “The agriculture extension centre of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) has successfully developed this affordable as well as efficient Egg Incubator in September 2017.
The machine developed by Scientist Dr Prafulchand Rahangdale under the guidance of IGKV was subjected to series of testing in different environmental conditions for a time period of around one year and findings confirmed it beneficial for hatching. The KVK will soon be initiating efforts to get the machine patent,” Senior Scientist and Head of Kanker KVK Dr Birbal Sahu told The Hitavada. Since, ‘Kadaknath’ is a wild-breed, it is less efficient to hatch eggs naturally and this is the key reason behind the breed’s slow multiplication, explained the senior scientist, adding that the incubator developed by KVK Kanker is going to make farming of this breed feasible in days to come. “As compared to incubators available in market, the machine developed in KVK Kanker is comparatively very reasonable and efficient. The machine with hatching percentage of 70 will cost around Rs 50000,” informed Dr Sahu.
Dr Sahu further informed that as of now, three incubators have been given to Self Help Groups (SHGs) working in Kanker under District Mineral Fund (DMF). Likewise, a machine will be dispatched to Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal and one to a farmer in other state in coming days. Soon this low cost incubator will be provided to KVK functioning across Chhattisgarh. Detailing about the incubator, Dr Sahu said the machine comprised of sensors to maintain adequate temperature and humidity for ensuring successful hatching of eggs and birth of healthy chicks. This incubator could carry around 600 eggs at a time for hatching. For successful hatching of eggs, the incubator is equipped with a turner operated by a 60 RPM DC Motor to ensure that yolk did not stick to egg shell.