ABSTRACT

1. Modern broiler production in large sheds holding upwards of 50 000 birds uses indoor climate control based on a handful of fixed-location sensors, often well above the bird-occupied zone. Significant deviations from 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 and collecting detailed spacial information on a wide range of climate parameters at bird level, enables accurate decisions to be made 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 studied.

3. In total, 1597 Ross 308 broiler chicks were housed in a room that was set up to replicate a commercial environment. The robot was driven along a fixed route three times a day (Monday–Friday) for the whole cycle under manual control. Behaviour was studied using camera footage.

4. The birds showed very little ‘startled’ behaviour in response to the robot and were quick to fill the area behind the robot as it moved past. Activity levels increased during robot runs but to a lesser extent than during walk-through by a human stockman. The challenges of operating the robot changed as the birds grew, with many individuals coming into physical contact with the front of the robot later in the cycle. Despite this, very few birds refused to move out of the way completely, and mortality and production parameters remained acceptable throughout.

5. This study has shown that running a mobile robot among a flock of broiler chickens is possible between 3 and 37 d in a cycle and causes limited disruption to bird behaviour. Future work needs to repeat this trial on multiple flocks to see whether running a mobile robot among the broilers can be achieved in a commercial setting, with limited disruption to bird behaviour.

摘要

1. 现代肉鸡生产在可容纳超过 50 000 只鸡的大型鸡舍中使用基于少数固定位置传感器的室内气候控制，这些传感器通常远高于鸟类栖息区。与鸟类的最佳气候条件存在明显偏差的情况很常见，但安装更高密度的固定传感器网格并不具有成本效益。机器人平台在鸟群中移动并在鸟类层面收集有关广泛气候参数的详细空间信息，可以做出准确的决策，以实时优化大型鸡舍的气候。

2. 一项初步研究调查了在一群肉鸡中运行移动机器人平台整个 6 周周期的可行性。研究了鸟类响应机器人的行为。

3. 总共有 1597 只罗斯 308 肉鸡被安置在一个为复制商业环境而设置的房间内。在手动控制的整个周期中，机器人每天（周一至周五）沿着固定路线行驶 3 次。使用摄像机镜头研究行为。

4. 鸟儿对机器人的反应很少表现出“受惊”的行为，并在机器人经过时迅速填满机器人身后的区域。机器人运行期间活动水平增加，但程度低于人类饲养员步行期间。随着鸟类的成长，操作机器人的挑战发生了变化，许多人在周期后期与机器人的前部进行了身体接触。尽管如此，很少有鸡拒绝完全让开，死亡率和生产参数始终可以接受。

5. 这项研究表明，在一个周期的 3 到 37 天之间，在一群肉鸡中运行移动机器人是可能的，并且对鸟类行为的影响有限。未来的工作需要在多只鸡群上重复这项试验，看看是否可以在商业环境中在肉鸡中运行移动机器人，同时对鸟类行为的干扰有限。