Feeding system for cattle based on a wheeled robotic feeder

Abstract

BACKGROUND: An analysis of the current state of production of dairy cattle products shows that the effective development of this industry can only be ensured at a breakthrough technological level. There is a wide variety of automatic feeding systems (AFS) on the market, differing in the level of automation, technical complexity and other parameters. They are actively used on foreign farms, however they are not widely used in Russia, mainly because of their high cost. AIMS: Development of a conceptual model of an automatic cattle feeding system based on a wheeled robotic feeder for servicing animals on domestic farms and plants. METHODS: The development was based on the following studies: the analysis of products made by manufacturers of systems for the preparation and distribution of feed mixtures at cattle farms; studying the works of foreign scientists devoted to the research of automatic feeding systems; modeling the operation of a robotic feeder and a mobile feed mixer-distributor using the developed mathematical apparatus based on graph theory; the experiments carried out at Russian farms with functioning automatic feeding systems and at farms that are potential consumers of these technologies. RESULTS: The paper presents the results of statistical processing of information obtained during the review of robotic feeders made by the world’s leading manufacturers. It is noted that the existing AFSs are suitable for relatively small European farms. For Russian farms, capable to contain 800 or more cows, the structure of the AFS with two main configurations is proposed. A description of each of the configurations is given, the schematic implementation plan for one of the configurations is given. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed AFS makes it possible to effectively use robotic feed dispensers with a relatively small amount of required technological equipment. Its efficiency increases with an increase in the number of livestock serviced, especially in farms with combined animal husbandry, as the specific costs of technological equipment per head decrease.