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The outside of the house with the chimneys and air inlets.[/caption]
Via our dealer DMC Feed Systems Ltd. in Northern Ireland Opticon has finished a broiler breeder project. Mr. Mawhinney selected DMC as his supplier because of reputation and best equipment. The combination of Opticon and Roxell equipment seems to work perfect for broiler breeders.
The projects consist of two houses of 300 x 58 feet connected with a central corridor. Each house will have 8000 females and 700 males’ breeder layer birds. The birds arrive at an age of about 18 weeks.
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Mr. and Ms. Mawhikney in the central corridor in front of the automation equipment.[/caption]
Ventilation: The houses are equipped with side air inlets with light traps. The air inlets are separate controlled each side with electrical drive units. Each side has its own temperature sensor. In this way the temperature will be the same at both sides and there will be a perfect airflow pattern. The amount of air is controlled by 14 on/off fans in chimneys in the center of the roof. All chimneys are equipped with motorized dampers to close the chimney shaft when the fan is off. Each chimney has a bowl type drip tray to block the direct daylight. This works better than a cap on top of the chimney and there is less dropping in performance as control over lighting is also critical for results.
The ventilation is configured with first stage 3 fans on a refresh timer mode which introduces fresh air through the house regardless of temperature, and if house temperature increases during the “on” cycle time the fans will stay on until set temperature is achieved. With the 3 first stage fans on if the temperature continues to increase the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th stage fans will operate as needed. All fan stages after refresh (3) fans will operate on a random cycle control, this enables each fan to be working and not be idle in summer months or hot weather. A heating system is not required, because of the age of the birds and the moderate climate in this country.
All measurement and controlling functions are done by the Opticon MCC-10 poultry computer. This unit is easy to use and incorporates all the necessary functions to operate a modern breeding house. With the ability for the installer to set up the controller in such a way that the only functions you will see on the Menu display are the functions you will use, in another words Opticon’s unique “what you see is what you use” programmable system. Which simplifies operation for the operator instead of scrolling through a menu or functions and settings that are not relevant to his equipment application.
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Separate thermostat in the building for extra security (Top) & Central alarm unit OKA-20 (Bottom)[/caption]
Alarm A complete independent alarm system is installed also the MCC-10 can triggered the alarm. In the house you have a high/low thermostat which is connected to the independent alarm unit OKA-20. The farmer will set the high/low setting at approx. 4-5 degrees above & below set point, which will trigger the alarm if house temperature is too high or low. The OKA-20 has built in rechargeable battery with 2 trigger inputs; dialer and 12v dc siren output and operates on trigger, power failure with siren test button. Also a Single temperature stat is uses as a manual back up fan stage, set 4-5 degrees above set point temperature.
Bird weighing The objective is to achieve target bodyweights throughout the life of broiler breeders. To ensure correct growth and development, minimize variation within flocks and between sexes. In practical it is not possible to get this vital information by manual bird weighing. Therefore Mr. Mawhinney decided to install the Opticon DWS-20 bird weighing system. Now he can spend more time to the control and the management of his birds. And have a gauge over what feed the birds are getting and need to maximize egg production.
The birds will be weighted from the first day till the end of the flock period. The farmer has continuous control about the performance of his birds. The house is split by the automatic nest box. Two weighing platforms / scales are located, one at each side of the nest. The system gives actual average weight of the females and the males.
The scales are chain suspended and maintenance free. No re calibration needed Litter build up does not influence weighing accuracy. No electrical wires under the platform (scale) Easy to adjust in height. Easy to remove during cleaning Load cell is located above the scale and away from the litter. It provides early warning on bird health. Shows daily weights more control over feed consumption Reduce labor
Without daily information on average and variation in weight, managers miss or overlook opportunities for improvement in bird performance. When challenged with disease, birds go off feed and water. This drop in daily gain is immediately detected and gives up to 48 hours in advance of the notice of a problem. - Reduced medication costs - Reduced mortality - Minimized the impact on daily gains.
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Here Mr. Michael Hamilton (DMC) and Mr. Marcus Salt (Salt Electrical) are checking out the bodyweight of the birds[/caption]
All controls can be connected in a PC network and can be accessed via a local PC and/or a remote PC. (Via Internet)
-BY Opticon
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