Development of low-cost IoT monitoring for system precision farming in a broiler house

Jairo Alexander Osorio Saraz; Felipe Andrés Obando Vega; Ana Paola Montoya Ríos; Veronica Gonzalez Cadavid

doi:10.31893/jabb.2025002

Keywords:

Abstract

Precision farming uses modern production technologies and techniques that impact farming processes and practices, contributing to the sustainability of the production process. Conventional farming production is highly inefficient in terms of resource management and has a high associated environmental impact, and production techniques such as precision farming are needed because of the increased demand for food. Nevertheless, the equipment and tools used are usually expensive, reducing the opportunities for small and medium producers. Therefore, a low-cost open-source agriculture IoT tool for monitoring animal production facilities was developed. The tool was integrated with three devices for measuring internal and external environmental conditions and for monitoring physiological and behavioural animal variables via a low-cost thermal camera. The external module sends the data wirelessly to the internal modules via the ESP-Now communication protocol. The measurements of all devices are stored in microSD and sent wirelessly via the MQTT communication protocol through the open-source message broker Eclipse Mosquitto. The developed sensor network was tested in the monitoring of broiler production. The environmental and physiological conditions of the birds were monitored in three production cycles, allowing the analysis of the relationships between the degree of thermal comfort and the weight gain of the animals, among other variables. The developed sensor network provides information of productive and scientific interest and can be used to support decision-making and technique processes in farming production in real time.
References
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16. Oviedo EA, Giraldo AM, González CA, Osorio JA (2022) Total heat loss in broilers feed with different lipid sources. Journal Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology. https://doi.org/10.31893/jabb.22029
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Saraz, J. A. O., Vega, F. A. O., Ríos, A. P. M., & Cadavid, V. G. (2025). Development of low-cost IoT monitoring for system precision farming in a broiler house . Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology, 13(1), 2025002. https://doi.org/10.31893/jabb.2025002

[1] Aydin A, Bahr C, Berckmans D (2015) A real-time monitoring tool to automatically measure the feed intakes of multiple broiler chickens by sound analysis. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2015.03.010

[2] Camargo TFB, Silva RL, Higa M, Coutinho MR, De Oliveira JCD, Dos Conceição WAS (2019) Thermal comfort monitoring in aviaries by a real-time data acquisition system. Revista Braileira Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental 23, 694–701.

[3] Castrillón N, González V, Osorio JA, Montoya AP, CORREA G (2020) Assessment of the methane emission for different typologies of fattening swine facilities in the department of Antioquia Colombia. Agronomy Research. https://doi.org/10.15159/AR.20.108

[4] de Oliveira Júnior AJ, de Souza SRL, da Cruz VF, Vicentin TA, Glavina ASG (2018) Development of an android APP to calculate thermal comfort indexes on animals and people. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 151, 175–184.

[5] dos Santos PA, F. da Costa Baeta F, de Fátima IFT, Cecon PR (2009) Ventilação em modos túnel e lateral em galpões avícolas e seus efeitos no conforto térmico, na qualidade do ar e no desempenho das aves. Revista Ceres 56, 172–180.

[6] Du X, Carpentier L, Teng G, Liu M, Wang C, Norton T (2020) Assessment of laying hens’ thermal comfort using sound technology. Sensors (Switzerland) 20,1–14.

[7] Giloh M, Shinder D, Yahav S (2012) Skin surface temperature of broiler chickens is correlated to body core temperature and is indicative of their thermoregulatory status. Poultry Science 91,175–188.

[8] Gonzalez X (2019) La Tecnología Ha Sido Fundamental Para El Crecimiento Del Sector Avícola En Colombia. Agronegocios. https://www.agronegocios.co/ganaderia/la-tecnologia-ha-sido-fundamental-para-el-crecimiento-del-sector-avicola-en-colombia-2944828. Accessed on May 26, 2020

[9] Linden J (2015) Low-Cost Sensors Enable New Possibilities for Advanced Systems in Poultry Management and Processing. The Poultry Site. https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/lowcost-sensors-enable-new-possibilities-for-advanced-systems-in-poultry-management-and-processing. Accessed on May 26, 2020

[10] Mahdavian A, Minaei S, Marchetto PM, Almasganj F, Rahimi S, Yang C (2021) Acoustic features of vocalization signal in poultry health monitoring. Applied Acoustics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2020.107756

[11] Montoya AP, Obando FA, Osorio JA, Gonzalez V (2024) Integration of low-cost technologies for real-time monitoring of pigs in pre-fattening stage. Agronomy Research. https://doi.org/10.15159/AR.24.008

[12] Obando FA, Montoya AP, Osorio JA, Andradre RR, Damasceno FA, Barbari M (2022) CFD Study of a Tunnel-Ventilated Compost-Bedded Pack Barn Integrating an Evaporative Pad Cooling System. Animals. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141776

[13] Obando FA, Montoya AP, Osorio JA, Vargas LG, Quiroz, Damasceno FA (2020) Assessment of black globe thermometers employing various sensors and alternative materials. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 284,1-12.

[14] Omomowo OO, Falayi FR (2021) Temperature-humidity index and thermal comfort of broilers in humid tropics. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal 23, 101–110.

[15] Osorio JA, Zapata OL, Arango JC, Marquez CJ, Hernandez RO, Damasceno FA, Oliveira KS (2017) An approach to the ammonia inventory in the poultry production in Colombia: Antioquia case. Chemical Engineering Transaction 58, 799–804.

[16] Oviedo EA, Giraldo AM, González CA, Osorio JA (2022) Total heat loss in broilers feed with different lipid sources. Journal Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology. https://doi.org/10.31893/jabb.22029

[17] Rault JL, Clark K, Groves PJ, Cronin GM (2017) Light intensity of 5 or 20 lux on broiler behavior, welfare and productivity. Poultry Science. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pew423

[18] Ren G, Lin T, Ying Y, Chowdhary G, Ting KC (2020) Agricultural robotics research applicable to poultry production: A review. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105216

[19] Rowe E, Dawkins MS, Gebhardt-Henrich SG (2019) A systematic review of precision livestock farming in the poultry sector: Is technology focussed on improving bird welfare?. Animals 9, 1–18.

[20] Rowshon A, Xinyang G, Chu-Wen C, Sohaib O, Carney VL, Martin JZ, Ran Z (2024) Assessments and application of low-cost sensors to study indoor air quality in layer facilities. Environmental Technology & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2024.103773

[21] Zhang G, Morsing S, Bjerg B, Svidt K, Strøm JS (2000) Test Room for Validation of Airflow Patterns estimated by Computational Fluid Dynamics. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 76, 141–148.

Abstract

References

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