Design and development of automatic hatching machine for the bantam breed, Ban Wang Nak area in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Southern Thailand

Abstract

    This research aimed to: 1) design and develop an automatic incubator for Ban Wang Nak bantam chickens in Karor, Nopphitam, Nakhon Si Thammarat, to control temperature and relative humidity with an automatic egg-turning mechanism, and 2) improve the hatch rate of bantam eggs within 21 days. The system processes data using an Arduino UNO microcontroller and employs fuzzy logic theory for decision-making. Nine control rules were established, and a Graphic User Interface (GUI) was developed using LabVIEW to display real-time temperature and humidity data for user monitoring. The incubator dimensions are 30x40x120 centimeters (width x length x height). Experimental results for temperature and relative humidity control showed averages of 36.86°C and 65.16%, respectively. The incubator was tested with bantam eggs to analyze the fertilization rate, hatch rate, and embryo mortality. The findings indicated that the fertilized egg rate at 7 days was 96.67%, while the unfertilized egg rate was 3.33%. Embryo mortality rates at 7 days and 18 days were 1.11% and 3.45%, respectively. Late embryo mortality was minimal, at 1.11%. The hatching rate for fertilized eggs was 95.44%, with an overall hatch rate of 92.22%. In conclusion, the developed automatic incubator effectively met the needs of the Ban Wang Nak community by enhancing the breeding efficiency of bantam chickens. It increased the survival rate of chicks to meet market demand while supporting more frequent incubation cycles.