Top 5 Critical Mistakes to Avoid When Investing in Poultry Farm Automation

Mistake 1: Ignoring Proper Shed Design and Capacity Planning

Neglecting the basic principles of shed design and capacity planning is a costly poultry farm automation mistake. Many farmers fail to understand the relationship of the physical structure of their poultry house and the efficiency of advanced systems. This leads to hasty conversion of the existing traditional sheds, or constructing new ones without considering;

• Optimal Bird Density: Overlooking the recommended space per bird, leading to overcrowding.
• Housing Type Compatibility: Failing to choose between deep litter, cage systems, or environmentally controlled (EC) houses based on long-term automation goals.
• Internal Layout for Automation Flow: Designing a layout that hinders the smooth operation of automated feeders, drinkers, egg collection systems, or manure removal.
• Scalability: Building a shed that fails to scale or cannot be upgraded technologically.

The Impact:

• Poor shed design can affect poultry automation investment returns.
• Overcrowding can reduce feed conversion ratios, decelerate growth rates, and increase susceptibility to diseases and increased mortality.
• Automated feeding lines may not distribute feed evenly and can cause frequent maintenance.
• Nipple Drinkers may not distribute water properly because of uneven pressure and may also cause leakages due to uneven pressure.
• Climate control systems will struggle to maintain uniform conditions resulting in inefficient performance.
• A shed incompatible with automation can lead to costly repairs, disruptive structural changes, increasing operational costs and delaying operational preparedness.
• A poorly planned shed limits your ability to scale up production or introduce new technologies, confining you to a suboptimal operational space.

The Solution: Here's how you can deal with these challenges with a holistic approach.

• Adherence to Best Practices: Follow breed-specific management guides from commercial poultry breeding companies for accurate housing density. These guides are tailored to each breed's genetic potential and provide precise standards for space, feeders, drinkers, and environmental conditions-ensuring compliance with global best practices and optimizing bird health, welfare, and productivity.
• Embracing Environment-Controlled (EC) Housing: For optimal poultry farm automation, EC houses offer control over temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation. This stable environment minimizes stress, maximizes feed efficiency, and ensures consistent bird performance.
• Optimizing Workflow Layout: Design the internal layout for seamless flow. Consider the path for feed delivery, automated feed lines, water lines, egg collection belts (for layers), manure removal systems, and easy access for maintenance and bird management.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Consider constructing easily expandable and technologically adaptable sheds.

Mistake 2: Prioritizing Low Price Over Quality Poultry Equipment

While adopting automated poultry farming systems, farmers usually opt for the cheapest available poultry equipment to upfront costs. But it is a classic "false economy" that can lead to higher long-term expenses and crucial operational hassle.

The Impact: The consequences of choosing substandard poultry equipment extend far beyond simple mechanical failures:

• Cheap equipment can result in frequent breakdowns, hampering productivity, increasing labor costs for repairs and potential disruption to feeding and watering.
• Substandard quality materials and construction lead to faster wear and tear, requiring more frequent maintenance and premature component or system replacements.
• Uneven feed distribution from faulty feeders, inadequate water supply from leaking drinkers, or fluctuating temperatures from unreliable brooders impact bird uniformity, growth rates, and flock health.
• Substandard materials or designs can complicate equipment cleaning and sanitization, creating a breeding ground for pathogens and compromising biosecurity.

The Solution: Smart investors understand that poultry equipment is a strategic asset. The focus should be on long-term value, not just the initial price tag.

Accordingly, you must prioritize,

• Robust Construction and Materials: Choose equipment comprising corrosion-resistant materials (e.g., superior galvanized steel, UV-stabilized plastics).
• Reputation and Track Record: Choose manufacturers that deliver reliable, high-performance poultry automation solutions. Research their customer feedback, service network, and product warranties.
• Energy Efficiency: Premium equipment often incorporates energy-efficient designs that save energy, and lower electricity bills.
• Ease of Maintenance and Availability of Spares: Select systems with an easy cleaning and routine maintenance. Ensure spare parts are available and affordable, minimizing downtime when you need repairs.

Mistake 3: Improper Ventilation System Planning

Installing ventilation systems - fans, cooling pads, and control panels, haphazardly without assessing specific airflow requirements, shed volume, bird density, and the prevailing local climate is another common mistake. Merely adding a few fans or pads based on assumptions could cause creation of heat zones, result in uneven temperature distribution, and cause accumulation of toxic gases like ammonia and CO2.

The Impact:

• Suboptimal ventilation systems create a hostile environment with dire consequences.
• Inadequate air exchange, particularly in hot and humid climates, leads to heat stress, panting, reduced feed intake, and increased vulnerability to respiratory diseases.
• Poultry litter generates ammonia. Without proper ventilation, ammonia concentrations rise, irritating the birds' eyes and respiratory tracts, damaging their immune systems, and impairing growth.
• Poor ventilation traps moisture, leading to wet litter, promoting the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi, exacerbating footpad lesions and breast blisters.
• Stressed, uncomfortable birds eat less efficiently and are more prone to illness, impacting feed conversion ratios and leading to higher mortality rates.

The Solution: Installing effective ventilation systems require precise calculations and strategic implementation:

• Comprehensive Airflow Calculations: Determine adequate quantum and speed of air required for your specific flock size based on bird age, and volume of the house. This needs to account for peak requirements during hot periods.
• Tailored System Design: Choose the right ventilation strategy - tunnel ventilation for larger, longer sheds, cross-ventilation for specific configurations, or natural ventilation with supplemental fans - based on your shed design, local wind patterns, and climate.
• Strategic Fan and Inlet Placement: Place fans and air inlets to create a uniform airflow across the entire shed, eliminating dead zones and ensuring fresh air.
• Smart Control Systems: Implement automated controllers that monitor internal temperature, humidity, and even CO2/ammonia levels, adjusting fan speeds, cooling pads, and inlets in real-time for optimal environmental conditions. Co2 and ammonia sensors are recommended for colder climates.
• Evaporative Cooling Pads: For hot climates, evaporative cooling pads are complements to fan systems, reducing internal temperatures by drawing in air via water-saturated media.

The ventilation system will run at its utmost efficiency when the building is properly insulated. Thus, the specific insulation R -value has to be followed while constructing buildings.

Mistake 4: Neglecting Backup for Power, Water, and Fuel

In an automated poultry farm system, systems like feeding, watering, ventilation, and lighting are dependent on a continuous and reliable supply of utilities. Many investors fail to plan for and implement backup systems for electricity, water, and fuel. Amidst power fluctuations and water scarcity, assuming constant availability of these resources can be disastrous.

The Impact: The absence of reliable backup utilities can lead to catastrophic losses, often within a short timeframe. Potential impacts can include;

• In an automated EC house, Unreliable or insufficient power backup during a power failure can cause the ventilation system to work inefficiently, which could cause suffocation and extreme heat stress to the flock. (due to lack of ventilation)
• Automated equipment like feeding system, egg collection, manure removal, silo etc will stop working, water lines dry up due to inadequate water storage, and climate control grinds to a halt, damaging sensitive electronic components, and resulting in critical repair or replacement costs.
• Beyond the immediate bird mortality, damages can include disrupted production cycles, lost revenue from missed market windows, and stock replacement costs.
• Such incidents can impact your farm's reputation and buyer relationships.

The Solution: Building redundancy into your farm's utility infrastructure is non-negotiable for poultry farm automation. Proactive planning involves:

• Robust Backup Power Generation: Invest in a generator with sufficient capacity (kW) to power essential automated systems simultaneously. Ensure it has an automatic transfer switch (ATS) for seamless, instant transition during grid failures.
• Ample Water Storage: Install large-capacity water storage tanks (overhead and ground level) capable of sustaining your flock for at least 24-48 hours, factoring in drinking, cooling, and cleaning needs. Explore multiple water sources if feasible.
• Adequate Fuel Reserves: Maintain sufficient fuel on-site to run your backup systems for an extended period, especially during times of unpredictable supply.
• Regular Maintenance and Testing: Implement a strict schedule for generator maintenance and weekly load testing to ensure it functions properly. Additionally, check water levels and fuel gauges regularly.

Mistake 5: Overlooking Training, Biosecurity and Digital Record keeping

Even the most technologically advanced poultry farm automation system is only as effective as the people who operate and manage it. Some common mistakes can include;

• Neglecting Staff Training: Assuming operators will instinctively know how to handle complex automated poultry equipment or respond to system alerts.
• Lax Biosecurity Protocols: Believing that automation reduces the need for stringent biosecurity, or not enforcing protocols strictly.
• Ignoring Digital Record-Keeping: Failing to utilize the data generated by automated systems or relying on outdated manual record-keeping.

The Impact: These oversights can significantly negate the benefits of poultry farm automation:

• Untrained staff might use incorrect settings, misinterpret data, or fail to perform routine maintenance, affect operations, bird performance and lead to costly equipment damage.
• Lapses in hygiene, visitor control, or waste management can introduce pathogens that spread rapidly in high-density automated sheds, causing disease outbreaks and financial damages.
• Without consistent, accurate digital record-keeping of various operational aspects, you lack the data to analyze performance trends, identify inefficiencies, predict problems, or make informed management decisions to optimize profitability.
• Without proper training and detailed records, diagnosing and resolving issues with automated systems becomes a time-consuming and frustrating ordeal.

The Solution: To unlock the power of poultry farm automation, invest in your human capital and establish robust protocols: Some measures include;

• Comprehensive Staff Training: Train all operators on the specific automated poultry equipment installed. Cover daily operations, routine maintenance, troubleshooting common issues, understanding system alerts, and emergency procedures.
• Ironclad Biosecurity Protocols: Implement and enforce a multi-layered biosecurity plan, including strict entry/exit procedures, sanitization stations, controlled visitor access, appropriate disposal of dead birds and waste, and correct zone management.
• Embrace Digital Record-Keeping & Analytics: Use the integrated data collection capabilities of modern poultry automation systems. Implement farm management software or digital dashboards to track key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time.