Alternative production

Poultry farming 4.0 how technologies can help

To read more content about AviNews March 2024

Now that we understand how technologies can help producers and industry in poultry farming 4.0, Rodrigo Galli presents his vision of which technologies can and are being used to help production efficiency in traditional poultry and elevate it to farming 4.0.

In this issue he shows us how they are used in practice.

Poultry 4.0 tools play a crucial role in the efficiency of poultry production, making it possible to monitor, prevent and even predict animal performance, based on technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data.

Computer vision, for example, using deep learning, is able to monitor birds’ behavior, identifying signs of health, disease or stress, as well as evaluating the weight, volume of feed, number and egg quality.

poultry farming

The AI also makes possible to do precise production predictions, such as the ideal time for slaughter based on marketing targets, feed consumption, egg production and bird weight.

  • In addition, automation plays a fundamental role, enabling tasks such as feeding, weighing, temperature adjustment and egg collection in an automated way, which increases the efficiency of the operation.

The application of these technologies in a practical way is divided into:

  • Technologies for feed mills.
  • Poultry houses.
  • Health.
  • Management.

Let’s start with the technologies that can be applied in the feed mill.

I mention three main types of NIR technologies (Near Infrared Spectroscopy) frequently used in feed mills.

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POULTRY HOUSES

In the case of 4.0 technologies for poultry houses, several have already been implemented. Their use makes the indicators more reliable for the poultry farmer. Consequently decision making while the birds are still inside the house is more efficient and accurate. These technologies include:

These additional examples highlight how Poultry Farming 4.0 incorporates a wide range of monitoring technologies to ensure adequate feed supply, optimizing bird feeding and improving production efficiency.

It’s also important to keep the following question in mind: are we training employees in these technologies?

HEALTH

Preventive flock health monitoring: Digital pathogen monitoring of poultry flocks through the collection of excreta and the use of qPCR, which allows poultry producers to continuously monitor and quantify gastrointestinal (GI) pathogens quickly, accurately and reliably, with early warning of pathogen levels – allowing them to take effective preventive action, fast, accurate and reliable, in a non-invasive way.

MANAGEMENT

  1. Decision Support System (DSS) – The data collected generates reports and insights that help with management and decision-making. The data is unified on a single platform, allowing an overview of the entire chain, with traceability and transparency of the
    business enabling the company to work with Blockchain.
  2. Blockchain (a distributed ledger technology that allows you to track and manage information securely and efficiently):
    • Improves supply chain transparency: the Blockchain can be used to improve the transparency of the poultry supply chain. This can help ensure that consumers have access to information about how poultry food has been produced.
  3. Dynamic planning: The data makes it possible to plan for the short and long term dynamically, optimizing processes and maximizing production.
  4. Through the alarms, technicians can see where there are problems and optimize their visits to the poultry houses that need support, searching for all the data stored on that batch to get to the root of the problem. This optimizes their time and the company’s resources, as well as making their work more efficient.

From these technologies Rodrigo also highlights the ability to control the farm environment intelligently. AI can regulate temperature, humidity and air quality, providing a more comfortable and productive environment for the birds.

These technologies, combined, enable more effective planning of production, optimizing processes, improving welfare and increasing overall productivity.

poultry farming

Poultry 4.0 tools go beyond monitoring and prediction. Variations in parameters outside acceptable limits, detected by sensors or data entered into cell phones, are quickly identified and generate alarms. These alarms notify the actuators, which can be automated systems, of the problem, allowing corrective action to be taken immediately.

 

 

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