Novel technologies are leaving the lab and heading into commercial broiler houses. Powered by advances in networking, software and hardware, monitoring tools designed to benefit broiler growers are moving from concept to reality.
In November and December 2021, WATT Global Media hosted the Poultry Tech Webinar series which shared industry-changing ideas from innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors and leading poultry producers. The series was sponsored by Arm & Hammer, Aviagen, Baader, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cargill, Ceva, Chore-Time, Cobb, Evonik, Marel, Phibro Animal Health, Staubli and Zoetis.
3D cameras could capture precision broiler weights
Poultry producers could use 3D camera technology to measure the shape and volume of broilers. These high-precision weight estimates could be used to monitor bird health and welfare.
It’s hard to obtain accurate broiler weights in a poultry house, Dr. Peter Ahrendt, CEO of Animoni ApS, said. A bad measure is like an inaccurate watch.
If a watch is half an hour ahead or behind, it doesn’t tell time very accurately, which can make you constantly late. Obtaining the accurate weight of birds within a flock can pose similar challenges. If estimates aren’t precise, the data is wrong.
“We have a new tool for accurate, real time weighing that can be used for most estimates and provide daily management for the farmer,” Ahrendt said.
Non-invasive remote sensing system
The 3D camera technology can weigh all birds within its field of view. Because the system can capture data from both light and heavy birds, it can generate a more accurate estimate of flock average and uniformity than other approaches.
Weight predictions, abnormality alerts and daily gain curves can be generated from this data, helping producers gain information about flock health and welfare. The non-invasive remote sensing system can serve as an “extra eye” for broiler producers, with additional capabilities, like activity monitoring, added with a simple software upgrade.
It features an internal infrared (IR) light source so it can record even in dark or minimal lighting.
Each 3D camera can capture the weights of up to 1,000 individual birds, depending on the height and angle of the camera. In larger houses, additional cameras may be necessary.
“In commercial broiler farms, we would normally use three or four cameras,” said Ahrendt.
The 3D camera technology is still in the development and validation stage, with an expected launch in six to nine months. Animoni is looking for partners for integrated solutions and commercialization.
Machine vision can detect broiler floor distribution
Machine vision can offer poultry farmers a way to improve productivity while still maintaining and monitoring poultry health, behaviors and welfare.
Dr. Lilong Chai, assistant professor and poultry engineering specialist at the University of Georgia, discussed how the technology can detect broiler floor distribution patterns, behaviors and welfare patterns.
In commercial bedding floor poultry houses, bird density and distribution pattern are critical factors for evaluating production management as well as animal health and welfare. Currently, daily routine inspection of broiler flock distribution in commercial grow-out houses is done manually, which is labor intensive and time consuming.
Chai is working on developing vision technology capable of automatically detecting and monitoring bird welfare, behaviors and health in drinking, feeding and resting activity zones within a poultry house.
How it works
The lab began by testing the machine's vision ability to quantify the behavior patterns of 20 birds in a pen. The researchers helped the technology learn how to automatically detect and reconstruct partial images to correctly identify individual birds and monitor their activity.
The most important factor identified by the team, Chai said, was that birds with leg issues stay closest to the feeders and drinkers because they are less mobile.
Because of this, the system is designed to measure how long each bird spends in the feeding zone, the resting zone and the drinking zone. This helps to automatically analyze welfare indicators.
The team then studied a larger house divided into 12 quadrants with 12 birds in each. Although the machine vision image processing was slower than anticipated, the real time results still showed that individual birds with leg issues remained much closer to feed and drink areas than their healthy counterparts.
The research provides the basis for developing a real-time evaluation tool to detect broiler chicken floor distribution patterns, behaviors and welfare indicators in a commercial setting. In large houses, the machine vision approach may be combined with robotic systems to scan the entire layout with only one camera, Chai said.
24/7 feedback loops could improve poultry flock outcomes
Sophisticated algorithms can analyze information collected on-farm to provide real-time feedback that could help identify flock issues earlier and solve problems more quickly.
“We bring you insights, information and learning on a broiler farm, which is lacking labor globally and lacking time because of all the aspects required on a day-to-day farm,” Russell Jones, head of commercial development for OPTIfarm, said.
Jones shared how data collection, algorithms and feedback systems can help integrators identify issues and solve problems to improve flock outcomes.
Real-time intervention
Recent innovations in low-cost sensors and the so-called internet of things make it possible to instantly upload data on ventilation, heating, water and food consumption, mortality and more to the cloud. However, the data collected is of little use without analyzation.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can analyze this data with algorithms. Remote support systems constantly monitor the data to provide feedback to growers and service personnel, helping to optimize the decision-making process when issues arise.
“What that AI enables us to do is give the farm manager or teams a resource that they can act upon as they see fit,” Jones said. “There may be things that the farm manager may not know that happened.”
Real-time interventions provided by remote support services can supply operational recommendations for efficiency improvements and welfare gains, including the ability to drive changes at the farm level that affect efficiency in the processing plant, Jones said.
The data analysis feedback loop can also help train new workers or fill in for the labor gap in poultry production.
