Emergency depopulation of chicken farms during an avian influenza outbreak (Design and development of CO2 delivery system)

Birds, like humans are susceptible to a myriad of influenza viruses. Avian Influenza, colloquially known as bird flu has been one of the deadliest zoonotic infection known to man. This virus was predominantly found to originate from chickens. Although the bird flu virus is endemic in the South East Asian region at the moment, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), a local statutory board that regulates food safety, has come up with several guidelines to not only prevent the introduction, but also to limit the spread of the virus. Next, to limit the exacerbation of the spread of the virus should one be detected within Singapore, all 2 million egg laying hens spread across 3 farms will have to be culled within 24 hours of an outbreak, in accordance with international practice. The hens will first be manually removed from the cages, gassed with 2 to 3 other hens in a bag and then disposed. The entire hen house will be disinfected thoroughly thereafter. The author will design an automated gas delivery system. On an actual scale, this system injects a humane concentration of CO2 into a henhouse that first renders the hens’ unconscious, with death following soon after. This project aims to develop a system which includes the design and manufacturing of a device to administer CO2 gas. A gassing sequence will also be initiated and conducted in a controlled environment to test out the feasibility of the finalised idea.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering