Precision livestock tools to improve products and processes in broiler production: a review

Abstract

Economic growth and production process development require technological support. Technology changes production functions, enabling a higher number of goods to be produced using the same amount of input. In this review, we discuss research and development in information technology that has led to innovative actions, with the new generation of tools, known as precision agriculture tools, that can be applied in Brazilian poultry production. In this context, research and development have focused on producing technological innovations based on increasingly specialized tools that go beyond human mind power, and are related to the acquisition, access, and processing of a huge number of data. The technology generated to date has assimilated the knowledge of experts, transferring it to the computing environment, providing steady, consistent, inexpensive, and fast tools to support decision-making in corporate farms. This will produce more precise and documented decisions, based on accessible and reproducible knowledge. There would be no direct interference of the global market, bringing benefits to producers, consumers, and also ensuring the welfare of birds. This review also highlights the interest of researcher in developing intelligent applications to support best practices, methods, and processes in order to monitor the production chain. It also shows that a few changes may affect the process as a whole, enabling fast decision-making, and promoting a preventative and less aggressive management of birds

Technology and Poultry Welfare

“…Available technological innovations currently tested for welfare assessment could greatly help to encompass a better environmental control and improve welfare while minimizing costs [15,16,17]. In addition, the reduction in health and welfare problems would lead to a more efficient and sustainable production in the long term.…”

“…Precision livestock farming (PLF), defined as the management of livestock production using the principles and technologies of process engineering [18], is based on automatic data acquisition, access, and processing [16]. Data from diverse sources are collected through smart sensors and compiled to a central database, where they will be later analysed to create an automatic management system based on real-time monitoring to control animal performance, health, and welfare [15].…”

“…Data from diverse sources are collected through smart sensors and compiled to a central database, where they will be later analysed to create an automatic management system based on real-time monitoring to control animal performance, health, and welfare [15]. According to Mollo et al [16], PLF must be able to automatically manage commercial poultry farm equipment (including feeders, fans, heating systems, and sprinklers) based on the collected information. Different studies on broiler chickens and laying hens have shown the importance of technology and PLF to study birds’ behaviour and welfare [15,17,19,20].…”

Application of a precision nutrition tool for growing and finishing pigs

“…Precision nutrition is a relevant concept in livestock production that uses different tools and management processes aiming to reduce losses, increase the product quality (Nääs, 2011;Pomar et al, 2009), reduce uncertainties in decisions, and optimize available resources (Mollo et al, 2009). The dynamic use of nutrients and the animal response in different production scenarios require a nutrient supply according to the diversity and purposes of production systems, aiming to improve efficiency (Pomar et al, 2009).…”

Implementação e avaliação de um sistema automatizado de monitoramento e controle térmico em um aviário convencional utilizando tecnologia IoT

“…Dados de diversas fontes são coletados através de sensores inteligentes e compilados para um banco de dados central, onde serão posteriormente analisados para criar um sistema de gerenciamento automático baseado em monitoramento em tempo real para controlar o desempenho animal, saúde e bem-estar (BERCKMANS, 2014).De acordo comMollo et al (2009), a PLF deve ser capaz de gerenciar automaticamente equipamentos comerciais de frangos de corte (incluindo alimentadores, ventiladores, sistemas de aquecimento e sprinklers) com base nas informações coletadas. Diferentes estudos sobre frangos de corte e galinhas poedeiras têm demonstrado a importância da tecnologia e da PLF para estudar o comportamento e o bem-estar das aves(BERCKMANS, 2014; MOURA et al, 2011).…”