The behaviour of commercial broilers in response to a mobile robot

Dennis, I. C.; Abeyesinghe, S. M.; Demmers, T. G. M.

Abstract

1. Modern broiler production, in increasingly large sheds holding upwards of 50.000 birds, controls indoor climate based on a handful of fixed location sensors, often well above the bird occupied zone. Significant deviations within a shed from the optimal climate conditions for the birds are common, but installing a higher density grid of fixed sensors is not cost effective. A robotic platform, moving through the flock of birds, collecting detailed spacial information on a wide range of climate parameters at bird level, will enable accurate decisions to optimise the climate in large sheds being made in real time.
2. A preliminary study investigated the feasibility of running a mobile robotic platform among a flock of broiler chickens for an entire 6-week cycle. Bird behaviour in response to the robot was also studied.

Citation

Dennis, I. C., Abeyesinghe, S. M., & Demmers, T. G. M. (2020). The behaviour of commercial broilers in response to a mobile robot. British Poultry Science, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2020.1759785

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 5, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 22, 2020
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 27, 2020
• Journal: British Poultry Science
• Print ISSN: 0007-1668
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2020.1759785
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1377647
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2020.1759785