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Abstract

In this study a Trombe wall powered poultry brooding house capable of handling 2000 day old chicks for a period of five weeks brooding period was designed, constructed and the performance evaluation conducted at National Centre for Energy Research and Development, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria latitude 6^o 56N. The major components of the poultry brooding house were a Trombe wall system measuring 10 m x 8.08 m with 0.25 m thick wall for solar energy collection and storage and a floor area measuring 70 m². Physical elements and biological performance of the poultry brooding house were experimentally undertaken in order to determine the functionality of the poultry brooding facility. Physical elements tested include ambient condition, temperature and relative humidity of the brooding house. While the biological test performance was conducted using poultry day old chicks for a period of five weeks in three replicates. Results of the performance evaluation showed that physical elements measured as temperature and relative humidity of the brooding room ranged between 28 – 35^oC and 56 – 76% when the ambient condition was between 18 – 37^oC and 45 – 87% respectively while solar irradiance for the period was between 76 – 860W/m². The biological performance showed that the chicks maintained an average live weight of 786.1g after four weeks of brooding operation with average 3% mortality rate. These results indicate that Trombe wall system could be best alternative to ever cost ineffective conventional heating systems to maintain and provide conducive environment for poultry brooding operation more especially in the tropical regions.