Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

New technology to detect chicken welfare
UNIVERSITY of Southern Queensland senior research fellow, Dr Cheryl McCarthy, a mechatronic engineer, is currently research- ing a new way to detect chicken welfare using machine vision.
Machine vision uses camera technology with
artificial intelligence akin to that of face rec- ognition.
Dr McCarthy’s system deploys continual on- board image analysis and provides minute- by-minute alerts which is significantly differs from the typically hu- man inspection rate of three times per day,
which also relies on the human eye.
Dr McCarthy said the cameras observe the daily behavioural pat- terns of the chickens, picking up change’s in- dicative of underlying health issues.
“The camera technol- ogy’s artificial intelli- gence spots subtle pat- terns in behaviours – are the chickens sitting more often, grouping together, or not eating as much?
“This data can be used in the diagnosis of tem- perature stress or foot conditions like footpad dermatitis,” he said.
The software has wide- reaching possibilities, with investigations also underway to apply it to chicken weight estima- tion and in a free-range
setting using drone tech- nology.
“The benefits include increased productivity via early interventions and better animal wel- fare, and as the cameras are low-cost, the tech- nology is well-suited to on-farm use,” Dr Mc- Carthy said.
The research is the first of its kind in Aus- tralia and has been the subject of a two year project funded by Ag- riFutures Chicken Meat Program.
It follows Dr McCa- rthy’s previous research in remote monitoring using smart cameras to perform tasks like cat- tle condition scoring, weed spot spraying and crop growth monitor- ing.
Raggazzini Pump hard at work.
Effective Poultry Waste Sludge Pump
Agriculture industry needs more engagement with community
CHANGING how the agriculture sector en- gages with the com- munity will do more for the industry than changing laws, accord- ing to Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies.
Mr McMonnies, who recently spoke at a Farm Writers’ Association of NSW event in Sydney, said even though policy change for trespass laws was important for the agricultural sector, it wasn’t going to solve the problem of false and
misleading information about the industry.
Mr McMonnies said it was inappropriate that masses of people were being encouraged to in- vade farms.
“It shouldn’t happen. I find something very scary about it, they are at the gate, they have a physical presence on farm. I know farmers are affected by this,” he said.
Although the introduc- tion of federal and state laws, after a spate of ac- tivism on farms and ab-
attoirs, were important, they’re only focused on trespass.
“These trespass laws aren’t going to do an- ything to solve the broader issue in rela- tion to campaigns and campaign organisations pushing false and mis- leading information against the agriculture sector,” he said.
Mr McMonnies said Australian Eggs had changed the way it communicated, from defending to now thinking about it from
the audience’s point of view.
“We need to drive a greater level of transpar- ency across the sector, where we are prepared to be open, own our im- pacts and to demonstrate we don’t have anything to hide.”
“I see this as an enor- mous challenge for our industry and this sector, I see it as a minimum as a decadal process to get our heads around and get momentum,” Mc- Monnies said.
MOVING some animal waste sludge can be a difficult proposition for pumps.
It can be thick and cor- rosive and is definitely only a job for the right pump, according to in- dustrial pump specialists, Hydro Innovations.
As the waste liquid gets thicker, it becomes much less efficient to use a cen- trifugal pump, but ideal for the right peristaltic pump says Garry Grant of Hydro Innovations.
“Our Ragazzini hose pumps can move thick poultry slurry comfort- ably when sized correctly, and with the right tubular element” he said.
The pumps use a roll- er on bearing method to ‘squeeze’ the tubular ele- ment, creating a vacuum on the suction side, ena- bling pumps to operate on high suction lifts.
The pumps are also ca- pable of delivering pres- sures up to 15 bar, ena- bling them to ‘push’ the sludge material over high hills or through long pipe lines.
These pumps are fit- ted with a leak detection system that will stop the pump and send an alarm if the hose wears.
Anditisnotamessyor complicated hose change- over because the pump casing is not full of ex-
pensive lubricant.
The pumps have no seals
or valves, can run dry without damage, and there is no contact between the pumped media and mov- ing parts.
Ragazzini pumps are set up to run slowly to promote longer hose life and they are able to pump good size solids.
Flows from just a few litres per minute up to 180m3/hour can be deliv- ered, depending on pump model.
More information on these pumps can be ob- tained from info@Hy droInnovations.com.au
View our full range of climate control, floor equipment, structures, layer equipment and incubation systems on our website
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07 3829 3242 ausagservices.com.au
Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, September 2019
www.poultrynews.com.au
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