Automated Chicken Weighing System Using Wireless Sensor Network for Poultry Farmers

Abstract

In recent years, in the quest for cost-effective operations, slower than expected chicken growth has become a big issue for the poultry farmers in Malaysia. To be profitable, the chickens need to reach 1.8kg in only 38 days from hatching. At present, the farmers manually check the weight of chickens twice a day, in the morning and evening, to monitor the growth rate of chickens. However, the workers in such farms do not weigh the chickens according to an established SOP, which in turn results in inaccurate growth-rate data obtained. This paper describes the development of an automated chicken weighing system using wireless sensor network (WSN) for poultry farmers to replace the manual approach. The weighing scales are equipped with wireless data transfer system to enable automatic data transfer to the Cloud using a Wi-Fi module. The data collected are then compared to the expected growth rates and used to monitor of the growth rate of chickens. The proposed growth rate monitoring system enables them the daily monitoring of the chicken development rate and enables the rectification of problems as soon as any discrepancies are detected. Problems such as insufficient or poor distribution of feed and the occurrence of disease can be rectified at an early stage.