Difference between revisions of "Chick brooder"

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==Timeline==
 
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*Expo - April 29, 2017 (need to have chicks available)
 
*Expo - April 29, 2017 (need to have chicks available)

Revision as of 12:32, 16 March 2017

Chicks.jpg

Tiny baby chicks need consistent feed, water and warmth. A brooder must be set up to provide these things. The Chick Brooder project is an Agronomo project to create an open-source, high-tech brooder to make the process better for small-scale farmers.

Using an embedded micro controller, such as the Particle Photon will enable a brooder to automatically control elements of the brooder environment and provide better care for chicks, while simultaneously reducing the burden on the farmer by providing alerts when things are not going right - this will improve the results and profitability of small-scale chicken rearing and improve the viability of sustainable, high-animal-welfare, alternatives to destructive CAFO confinement operations.


Background/ Client Info:

Our client is Andre Houssney who owns Jacob Springs Farm which is an organic, modern-day subsistence farm outside of Boulder. Mr. Houssney focuses on the whole ecosystem involved in farming rather than specialization which is the trend in industrial farms today. The problem with subsistence farming is that it is very labor intensive for the farmer so Mr. Houssney has implemented various technologies throughout his farm to eliminate many of the mundane tasks such as checking temperatures and water levels. He expressed how important it is that other farmers have access to the technologies he is using to make his farm more efficient and to make subsistence farming a less daunting task in the modern-day.

Mr. Houssney asked for a brooder box for his chicks that monitored the temperature and adjusted the heat lamps automatically to maintain a constant temperature. The problem he is having is that the chicks have to be in a constant temperature and if they are not they die which costs him every time someone forgets or is late on checking the temperature of the brooder box. The problem with most brooders is that the farmer or whoever is raising the chicks has to adjust the temperature manually. This is a very inefficient use of time and could be made much simpler by incorporating temperature sensors and adjustable lights. This image shows a home made brooder box with a simple heat lamp which also has to be adjusted by hand.

The Universal Box Brooder [1] is a chick brooder that costs $238 and can fit 48 chickens. The problem with this is both the cost and the capacity. Mr. Houssney needs a cheaper and more efficient way to monitor his chicks and be as productive as possible.

Technical Background:

Although this product primarily focuses on the transfer of heat in order to protect and raise chicks, it also will require the incorporation of multiple sensors to not only measure the current temperature, but also measure the water levels within the pen and also read the motion of the chicks. This requires prior knowledge of heat transfer and specific heat formulas, ex: Q=mc𝚫T ,to ensure that no parts of the product begin to heat the water or the chicks, therefore, it will be wise to use materials with higher specific heat capacities. Prior to construction of the product, we will research the liveable temperature for chicks, in order to monitor the system and automatically track the temperature so that it does not exceed the extremes.

Before beginning

Research temperature requirements for young chicks. and record the findings in an article you will create called brooding for future reference:

Brainstorming:

Brooder Projects Sketch.jpg

The first idea that we had is the heat transfer for chicks, which goal is to keep the chicks warm and have a great environment for growth. Also, we are using a lamp heat as tool for that. In addition to that heat lamp has both pros and cons. One of the advantages is, chicks can have the same environment as the real chicken brooders, including one of the most important factors which is temperature that will keep them surviving, disregarding the outside temperatures. Moreover, as there advantages there are disadvantages, one of the cons of heat lamp is the uneven distribution of temperature throughout the brooders, which will makes it difficult to measure the temperature.

Another great idea that we had for this project is the surface heater which is helps to measure the temperature throughout the brooder evenly, versus the heat lamp we won't. In addition, it might be difficult for chicks to adjust the new temperature that they got used to in the real borders.

Another great idea that supports the solutions for our project is a phone app. The way that the phone app works is connecting the photon that measures the temperature of the brooder. By taking the temperatures recordings periodically, as well as it sends an updates to the app so that the user can access remotely the status of the current temperature. On top of that, in case the temperature is not the same as it supposed to be, the user can remotely adjust the temperature by using the app without going to the chicks location.

Heat Lamp
  • Pros: chicks may roam throughout brooder and find spot with most desirable temperature, most common heating method for chicken brooders
  • Cons: uneven temperature distribution throughout brooder makes it difficult to measure temperature,
Surface Heater
  • Pros: even heating throughout brooder, easier to measure temperature
  • Cons: difficult for chicks to adjust if set temperature is not to their liking (no variation),
App for Phone

Connects to a photon that measures the temperature of the brooder. It periodically sends temperature recordings to the app so the user can remotely check on the chick’s status. If the temperature is not at an ideal setting, the user can also remotely adjust this to their liking.

Requirements

The brooder should be made of a 4' x 4' sheet of plywood designed to hang from the ceiling of the brooder room. It should ultimately have a heat reflective underside and cutouts for light fixtures. It could have a skirt made from reflective & insulative mylar that hangs down 12" all around. bonus points if If it could be designed to utilize two different power sources for redundancy incase of a circuit breaker overload.

Design Requirements:

The product must be able to hold and maintain at least a few hundred chicks.

  • The size will be at least 4 feet across.
  • Structure should be circular shape in order to properly distribute the heat evenly and to prevent certain regions, such as a corner, from not receiving proper heating.
  • The hanging element should be curved so that the light resides at the apex of the curve to distribute the heat throughout and force it to the edges of the ring.
  • The device must also be remotely controlled through a phone app so that it and other similar devices can be monitored from a distance.


Costs: $375
Dimensions: Circular shape, with a diameter of at least 4 feet; in addition to hanging light fixture, circular ring for chicks
Weight: No particular bounds- as light as possible
Power Usage: Connected to the power source in the barn
Materials: Lights, acrylic/wood, arduino- particle photon
Location: Jacob’s Farm in Boulder, Colorado- In a shed/barn
User: Andre Houssney-Organic Farmer

PHASE ONE: Consistent source of warmth

In Colorado during the chick-brooding season (typically spring) temperatures can vary WIDELY over the course of a single day. Chicks need a consistent temperature. The ChickMagnet (or whatever clever name you come up with) should be able to measure the floor temperature and adjust the heat by turning on and off heat lamps.

Measuring temperature could be done a few ways - normally farmers do this visually - by observing the chicks behavior, chicks that are cold will bunch very tightly together under the heat source, chicks that are hot will be clustered in the corners away from the source - just right is a loose bunch.

One possible solution for heat would have 3x60 watt incandescent light bulbs that are always on and an additional 4-6 bulbs that switch on and off to maintain temperature OR a ceramic heater element (I will provide any fixture hardware that is needed and I have some ceramic heating elements)

ALERTS should be developed to notify the farmer if conditions get outside set parameters (such as in the case of an equipment malfunction - like where bulbs burn out or a circuit-breaker fails or if cold overwhelms the system - like if a door were left open.

Design Components

Suggestions for Phone App

  • IFTTT (If This Then That)
  • Blynk
  • explore using particle.publish and the particle app

Coding for Photon/Arduino

  • Brooder Arduino: turns lights on and off according to certain temperature parameters, but is not capable of connecting to a phone app.
  • Brooder Photon: same functionality as the Arduino but is capable of connecting to phone app.

Schematics

FinalSchematics3D.png FinalSchematics2D.png

  • Note: The filled in red circle spaces indicate heat lamps that are always on. Unfilled circles indicate lights that will turn on and off according to temperature.

PHASE TWO: Consistent source of water

If the heat problem is addressed, a water dispensing solution could be integrated that keeps the water supply full and alerts when water has run out.

PHASE THREE: Feed monitoring

Simple feed dispensing solutions already exist although alerts could be contemplated when feed levels drop to much - perhaps using ultrasonic distance sensors.

Team Members

  • Shelby Buckley
  • Julia Sakiewicz
  • Trevor Wilson
  • Tanya Leung
  • Mohammed Alrashed

Timeline

Brooder Timeline.png Timeline2.png

  • Expo - April 29, 2017 (need to have chicks available)