Methods for monitoring cough in chicken coops and flocks

Abstract

This invention relates to a chicken coop, comprising a hollow coop body containing cages for chickens. A gap exists between the outer wall of the cages and the inner wall of the coop. An installation block is installed within this gap, slidingly connected to the inner wall of the coop along the length of the coop body. An acoustic sensor and a temperature sensor are fixedly mounted on the side of the installation block facing the cages. The acoustic sensor collects the sounds of the chickens inside the cages, and the temperature sensor collects their body temperature. A processing module and an alarm module are fixedly mounted on the outer wall of the coop body. The processing module processes the information collected by the acoustic and temperature sensors and sends instructions to the alarm module, which then issues an alarm message based on the instructions. This invention addresses the problem of high workload for technicians who rely on manual inspections to monitor the health of chickens in existing technologies.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aquaculture technology, specifically to a method for monitoring coughing in chicken coops and flocks. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of modern farming methods, especially the widespread adoption of intensive and multi-level farming, poultry are facing increasing health risks during the farming process. Respiratory diseases have become one of the main problems affecting poultry health and production efficiency. Intensive farming environments typically feature high humidity, poor air circulation, and dense flock arrangements. These factors not only increase the risk of disease transmission but also result in significant economic losses once a disease outbreak occurs.

[0003] Coughing is one of the most typical and obvious early symptoms of respiratory diseases in poultry. Coughing in chickens usually indicates a respiratory infection or irritant lesion, and is often accompanied by other clinical symptoms such as fever and loss of appetite. Therefore, coughing and abnormally high body temperature can serve as early signals of respiratory disease in poultry, and timely monitoring and diagnosis are crucial for disease control.

[0004] Currently, traditional methods for monitoring respiratory diseases in chickens mostly rely on manual inspections. This involves collecting data on the flock's behavior through listening and visual observation, and then relying on the experience of technical personnel to determine whether the flock has a respiratory disease. However, due to the large number of chickens in the chicken house and their wide range of movement, manual inspections are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and relying on the experience of technical personnel to determine whether the flock has a respiratory disease has a large margin of error. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for monitoring coughing in chicken coops and flocks, so as to solve the problem that the high workload of technicians is caused by the existing method of manually inspecting and monitoring the health status of chickens.

[0006] The method of determining whether a flock of chickens has respiratory disease based on experience has a large margin of error.

[0007] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0008] A chicken coop includes a hollow structure, a cage for chickens to live in inside the coop, and a gap between the outer wall of the cage and the inner wall of the coop. An installation block is installed in the gap between the coop and the cage, and the installation block is slidably connected to the inner wall of the coop along the length of the coop.

[0009] An acoustic sensor and a temperature sensor are fixedly installed on the side of the mounting block facing the cage. The acoustic sensor is used to collect the sound information of the chickens in the cage, and the temperature sensor is used to collect the body temperature information of the chickens in the cage.

[0010] A processing module and an alarm module are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the shed. The processing module is used to process the information collected by the acoustic sensor and the temperature sensor and send instructions to the alarm module. The alarm module is used to issue alarm information according to the instructions.

[0011] Furthermore, the side wall of the shed is provided with ventilation holes that connect the inside and outside of the shed, and an impeller is rotatably fitted inside the ventilation holes;

[0012] A linkage component is provided between the impeller and the mounting block. When the mounting block slides inside the shed, the impeller is driven to rotate through the linkage component.

[0013] Furthermore, multiple vent holes are provided, which are evenly arranged along the sliding direction of the mounting block, and each of the multiple vent holes is provided with an impeller.

[0014] Furthermore, the linkage component includes a gear coaxially fixedly connected to one end of the impeller facing the cage and a rack meshing with the gear, wherein the bottom surface of the rack is fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block.

[0015] Furthermore, the rack includes a connecting strip fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block and a plurality of sliding strips evenly arranged in the sliding direction of the mounting strip, wherein the connecting strip has an open end facing the sliding direction of the mounting block and has a hollow structure.

[0016] The slide bar is perpendicular to the connecting bar, one end of the slide bar penetrates the top wall of the connecting bar and is inserted into the connecting bar, and the slide bar and the connecting bar are in sliding cooperation;

[0017] The connecting strip is provided with a pusher at the open end. The end of the pusher facing the opening of the connecting strip is wedge-shaped, and the inclined surface faces the top wall of the connecting strip. The wedge-shaped end of the pusher is inserted into the opening of the connecting strip and slides with the connecting strip. When the bottom end of the pusher abuts against the top surface of the pusher, the top end of the pusher protrudes out of the top surface of the connecting strip and is inserted into the gear groove.

[0018] Furthermore, a first lead screw is connected in series inside the push bar and is connected by a threaded engagement. The end of the first lead screw facing away from the opening of the connecting bar extends through the end wall of the connecting bar and extends out of the connecting bar. The first lead screw is rotatably engaged with the connecting bar.

[0019] The connecting strip is fixedly connected to a first motor at one end facing away from the opening. The output end of the first motor is fixedly connected to the first lead screw on the same axis, and the first motor is electrically connected to the processing module.

[0020] A method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks, comprising using the aforementioned chicken coop, and the monitoring method is as follows:

[0021] S1. Acoustic sensors and temperature sensors are used to collect the clucking information and body temperature information of the chickens in the cage, respectively. The collected information is then transmitted to the variational autoencoder (VAE) model for training.

[0022] S2. Learn the latent distribution of input data through VAE, generate feature representations similar to the input data, use the vocal information training process as a sample input to the first feature monitoring network, and define the error loss1 of the model as threshold 1 when the model error is stable. Use the body temperature information training process as a sample input to the second feature monitoring network, and define the error loss2 as threshold 2 when the error is stable.

[0023] S3. Based on the error between the input sample and the model parameters, the model will output a comparison result with threshold 1 or threshold 2 to determine whether the sample is abnormal and send a corresponding instruction to the warning module.

[0024] S4. The warning module issues corresponding warning information based on the received instructions.

[0025] Furthermore, the coughing sounds of chickens are monitored in real time using acoustic sensors, and the information of the chickens' coughing sounds is collected and saved to a specified path on the terminal.

[0026] Using existing functions, Mel-Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) features are extracted from the collected vocal information to generate audio feature maps. The feature maps are then converted into image format and saved in a specified path as sample data for the first feature monitoring network.

[0027] Furthermore, the body temperature of chickens is monitored in real time using temperature sensors, and infrared thermal images of abnormal body temperatures are collected and saved to a designated path on the terminal as sample data for the second feature monitoring network.

[0028] Furthermore, when the error between the input call information and the first feature monitoring network is less than the threshold of 1, it indicates that the chicken's coughing behavior is normal; when the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken has a health problem.

[0029] When the error between the input body temperature information and the second feature monitoring network is less than the threshold of 2, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is normal. When the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is abnormal and there is a health problem.

[0030] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0031] This type of chicken coop uses mounting blocks installed in the gap between the cage and the coop body. These mounting blocks are slidably connected to the coop body along its length, allowing acoustic and temperature sensors to move inside the coop. This enables the collection of chicken call and body temperature information at different locations along the coop's length, replacing manual inspections and reducing the workload of technicians. The collected information is transmitted to a processing module outside the coop. After processing, the module sends a command to an alarm module, which then issues a corresponding warning message outside the coop, allowing technicians to monitor the chickens' health status from outside the coop.

[0032] A method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks employs multimodal joint monitoring to assess the health status of chickens from two perspectives: vocalizations and body temperature, thereby improving monitoring accuracy. Vocalizations reflect the chickens' behavioral patterns and health status, while body temperature provides an early warning of abnormal temperatures. Combining these two pieces of information allows for a more comprehensive and accurate identification of abnormal situations.

[0033] Other advantages, objectives, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following examination, or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention can be realized and obtained through the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the shed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the mounting block and rack in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the impeller and gear in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the rack in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Sectional view of AA;

[0041] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] In the diagram: 1. Shed; 11. Ventilation hole; 12. Impeller; 13. Gear; 14. Rack; 141. Connecting bar; 142. Sliding bar; 143. Push bar; 144. First lead screw; 145. First motor; 15. Slide groove; 16. Second lead screw; 17. Second motor; 2. Cage; 3. Mounting block; 4. Acoustic sensor; 5. Temperature sensor; 6. Processing module; 7. Warning module. Detailed Implementation

[0043] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0044] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0045] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0046] In the above description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "one side," "the other side," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship in which the product of the invention is conventionally placed during use. These terms are used only for the convenience of describing the present invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0047] Furthermore, terms such as "identical" do not imply that components must be absolutely identical; minor differences are permissible. The term "perpendicular" simply means that the positional relationship between components is more perpendicular than "parallel," not that the structure must be perfectly perpendicular; a slight tilt is acceptable.

[0048] Please see Figure 1-8The present invention provides a technical solution: a chicken shed, including a hollow shed body 1, a cage body 2 for chickens to live in is provided inside the shed body 1, and there is a gap between the outer wall of the cage body 2 and the inner wall of the shed body 1. An installation block 3 is provided in the gap between the shed body 1 and the cage body 2, and the installation block 3 is slidably connected to the inner wall of the shed body 1 in the length direction of the shed body 1.

[0049] An acoustic sensor 4 and a temperature sensor 5 are fixedly installed on the side of the mounting block 3 facing the cage 2. The acoustic sensor 4 is used to collect the sound information of the chickens in the cage 2, and the temperature sensor 5 is used to collect the body temperature information of the chickens in the cage 2.

[0050] A processing module 6 and an alarm module 7 are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the shed 1. The processing module 6 is used to process the information collected by the acoustic sensor 4 and the temperature sensor 5, and send instructions to the alarm module 7. The alarm module 7 is used to issue alarm information according to the instructions.

[0051] In this solution: an installation block 3 is installed in the gap between the cage 2 and the shed 1, and the installation block 3 is slidably connected to the shed 1 along its length. This allows the installation block 3 to move the acoustic sensor 4 and the temperature sensor 5 inside the shed 1, so as to collect the call and body temperature information of the chickens at different positions along the length of the shed 1, replacing manual inspection and reducing the workload of relevant technicians. The collected information is transmitted to the processing module 6 outside the shed 1. After processing the collected information, the processing module 6 sends a command to the warning module 7. After receiving the command, the warning module 7 issues a corresponding warning message outside the shed 1, so that relevant technicians can obtain the health status of the chickens from outside the shed 1.

[0052] A groove 15 extending along the length of the shed 1 is formed on one side wall of the shed body 1. One side of the mounting block 3 is embedded in the groove 15 and slides within it. A second lead rod 16, parallel to the groove 15, is positioned outside the groove 15. The mounting block 3 is fitted onto the middle of the second lead rod 16 and connected via a threaded connection. Both ends of the second lead rod 16 extend beyond the shed body 1 along its length from both side walls and rotate within the shed body 1. A second motor 17 is mounted at one end of the second lead rod 16 and is fixedly installed on the outer side wall of the shed body 1. The output end of the second motor 17 is coaxially and fixedly connected to one end of the second lead rod 16. The temperature sensor 5 is an infrared temperature sensor, and the warning module 7 is a display screen. Upon receiving instructions from the processing module 6, the display screen displays a corresponding warning pattern, visually conveying information to relevant technical personnel. The acoustic sensor 4, temperature sensor 5, and warning module 7 are all electrically connected to the processing module 6.

[0053] During use, when health monitoring of the chickens inside cage 2 is required, the second motor 17 is activated. The second motor 17 drives the second lead screw 16 to rotate forward. The external thread on the second lead screw 16 applies a thrust along the axial direction of the second lead screw 16 to the mounting block 3, causing the mounting block 3 to slide forward within the slide groove 15. Simultaneously, the acoustic sensor 4 and temperature sensor 5 are activated to collect the chickens' vocalizations and body temperature information. After processing by the processing module 6, corresponding warning information is issued on the warning module 7, allowing relevant technicians to understand the health status of the chickens inside cage 2. Furthermore, the acoustic sensor 4 and temperature sensor 5 move along with the mounting block 3 to collect information on the chickens at various locations along the length of the cage 1, replacing manual inspection.

[0054] When the mounting block 3 abuts against one side wall of the cage 1 along its length, the second motor 17 reverses, causing the mounting block 3 to slide in the opposite direction within the slide groove 15. When the mounting block 3 abuts against the other side wall of the cage 1 along its length, the second motor 17 rotates forward again, causing the mounting block 3 to reciprocate linearly within the slide groove 15. This allows the acoustic sensor 4 and the body temperature sensor to cyclically collect acoustic and body temperature information of the chickens at various locations within the cage 2, continuously monitoring the health status of the chickens within the cage 2.

[0055] In this embodiment: the side wall of the shed 1 is provided with a ventilation hole 11 that connects the inside and outside of the shed 1, and an impeller 12 is rotatably fitted inside the ventilation hole 11;

[0056] A linkage component is provided between the impeller 12 and the mounting block 3. When the mounting block 3 slides inside the shed 1, it drives the impeller 12 to rotate through the linkage component.

[0057] In this design: the ventilation hole 11 is used to connect the air inside and outside the shed 1. An impeller 12 is installed inside the ventilation hole 11. By rotating the impeller 12 in the forward or reverse direction, airflow is generated to the outside or inside of the shed 1, which promotes air circulation inside and outside the shed 1, exhausts the hot and humid air inside the shed 1 or introduces fresh air into the shed 1, provides a suitable living environment for the chickens, and reduces the probability of chickens getting sick.

[0058] During use, when the mounting block 3 slides forward in the slide groove 15, it drives the impeller 12 to rotate forward through the linkage component, expelling the hot and humid air inside the shed 1; when the mounting block 3 slides backward in the slide groove 15, it drives the impeller 12 to rotate backward through the linkage component, inputting fresh air into the shed 1.

[0059] In this embodiment: multiple vent holes 11 are provided, and the multiple vent holes 11 are evenly arranged along the sliding direction of the mounting block 3, and each of the multiple vent holes 11 is provided with an impeller 12.

[0060] In this scheme: when the mounting block 3 slides in the slide groove 15, it is connected to the impeller 12 at the corresponding position through the linkage component, so that the impeller 12 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, so that the corresponding ventilation hole 11 discharges hot and humid air or flows in fresh air, and the other ventilation holes 11 discharge fresh air or discharge hot and humid air, thus promoting the mutual circulation of air between the inside and outside of the shed body 1.

[0061] In this embodiment: the linkage component includes a gear 13 that is coaxially and fixedly connected to one end of the impeller 12 facing the cage 2, and a rack 14 that meshes with the gear 13. The bottom surface of the rack 14 is fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block 3.

[0062] In this design, each of the multiple impellers 12 facing the cage 2 is equipped with a gear 13. The length of the rack 14 can be less than or greater than the axial distance between the two impellers 12. When the length of the rack 14 is less than the axial distance between the two impellers 12, the rack 14 can mesh with the gear 13 of at most one impeller 12 at a time, that is, drive at most one impeller 12 to rotate. As the mounting block 3 slides continuously, the rack 14 alternately meshes with the multiple gears 13 of the multiple impellers 12, thereby driving the multiple impellers 12 to rotate in sequence.

[0063] When the length of rack 14 is greater than the shaft distance between two impellers 12, rack 14 can simultaneously mesh with two adjacent gears 13, three gears 13, or more gears 13 to drive the meshing gears 13 to rotate, so that the corresponding impellers 12 rotate synchronously, and air is discharged or injected from multiple vent holes 11.

[0064] In this embodiment: the rack 14 includes a connecting strip 141 fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block 3 and a plurality of sliding strips 142 evenly arranged in the sliding direction of the mounting strip. The connecting strip 141 has a hollow structure with one end open in the sliding direction of the mounting block 3.

[0065] The slide bar 142 is perpendicular to the connecting bar 141. One end of the slide bar 142 penetrates the top wall of the connecting bar 141 and is inserted into the connecting bar 141. The slide bar 142 and the connecting bar 141 are in sliding engagement.

[0066] The connecting strip 141 has a pusher 143 at its open end. The end of the pusher 143 facing the opening of the connecting strip 141 is wedge-shaped, and the inclined surface faces the top wall of the connecting strip 141. The wedge-shaped end of the pusher 143 is inserted into the opening of the connecting strip 141 and slides with the connecting strip 141. When the bottom end of the slide bar 142 abuts against the top surface of the pusher 143, the top end of the slide bar 142 protrudes out of the top surface of the connecting strip 141 and is inserted into the tooth groove of the gear 13.

[0067] In this design: a rack 14 is formed by splicing a connecting strip 141 and multiple sliding strips 142. The sliding strips 142 serve as teeth of the rack 14, and are slidably connected to the connecting strip 141, allowing the sliding strips 142 to be slidably embedded inside the connecting strip 141. When the bottom end of the sliding strip 142 abuts against the bottom surface inside the connecting strip 141, the sliding strip 142 is completely embedded inside the connecting strip 141, disengaging from the gear 13, thereby reducing the number of teeth in the rack 14.

[0068] When it is necessary to increase the number of teeth on rack 14, push the push bar 143 into the connecting bar 141. The inclined surface of the wedge end of the push bar 143 pushes the slide bar 142 to rise, so that the top of the slide bar 142 protrudes outside the top surface of the connecting bar 141 until the bottom of the slide bar 142 abuts against the top surface of the push bar 143.

[0069] That is, the number of gears 13 simultaneously meshing with the rack 14 can be controlled by controlling the number of teeth of the rack 14, thereby controlling the area covered by the corresponding impeller 12, and thus controlling the efficiency of airflow from or into the housing 1 near the mounting block 3; at the same time, during the process from the beginning of gear meshing with the rack 14 to the disengagement of gear 13 from gear meshing with the rack 14, the moving speed of the mounting block 3 is fixed, so that the rotation speed of gear 13 and impeller 12 is fixed, that is, the airflow through the through hole per unit time is fixed. By increasing or decreasing the number of teeth of the rack 14, the meshing transmission time can be increased or decreased, thereby increasing or decreasing the airflow in the through hole.

[0070] In this embodiment: a first lead screw 144 is connected in series inside the push bar 143 and is connected by a threaded engagement. The end of the first lead screw 144 facing away from the opening of the connecting bar 141 passes through the end wall of the connecting bar 141 and extends out of the connecting bar 141. The first lead screw 144 and the connecting bar 141 are rotatably engaged.

[0071] The connecting bar 141 is fixedly connected to one end facing away from the opening with a first motor 145. The output end of the first motor 145 is fixedly connected to the first lead screw 144 on the same axis, and the first motor 145 is electrically connected to the processing module 6.

[0072] In this solution: During use, the mounting block 3 slides within the slide groove 15. The acoustic sensor 4 and temperature sensor 5 collect the call and body temperature information of the chickens at the corresponding locations. The processing module 6 analyzes and determines the health status of the chickens in the area. If the processing module 6 determines that the chickens in the area have health problems, the processing module 6 controls the first motor 145 to start. The first motor 145 drives the first lead screw 144 to rotate in the forward direction. The external thread on the first lead screw 144 applies a thrust along the axial direction of the push bar 143, causing the push bar 143 to slide into the connecting bar 141 until the push bar 143 abuts against the end wall of the connecting bar 141 facing away from the opening. The processing module 6 then controls the first motor 145 to shut down. The push bar 143 pushes and lifts the slide bar 142 embedded in the connecting bar 141, increasing the number of teeth on the rack 14. This promotes air circulation between the area near the mounting block 3 and the outside air of the shed 1, facilitating the exhaust of air near the chickens with health problems and reducing the probability of healthy chickens in the vicinity being infected.

[0073] The mounting block 3 continues to slide within the groove 15. When the processing module 6 determines that the chickens in the corresponding area are healthy, the processing module 6 controls the first motor 145 to start. The first motor 145 drives the first lead screw 144 to rotate in the opposite direction. The external thread on the first lead screw 144 applies a thrust along the axial direction of the first lead screw 144 to the push bar 143, causing the push bar 143 to slide out from the connecting bar 141. This causes the slide bar 142 to disengage from the push bar 143. Under the action of gravity, the slide bar 142 slides into the connecting bar 141, reducing the number of teeth on the rack 14 until all slide bars 142 are retracted into the connecting bar 141. Then, the processing module 6 controls the first motor 145 to shut down.

[0074] A method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks, comprising using the aforementioned chicken coop, and the monitoring method is as follows:

[0075] S1. Acoustic sensor 4 and temperature sensor 5 are used to collect the sound information of chickens in cage 2 and the body temperature information of chickens in cage 2, respectively. The collected information is then transmitted to the variational autoencoder (VAE) model to train the variational autoencoder (VAE) model.

[0076] S2. Learn the latent distribution of input data through VAE, generate feature representations similar to the input data, use the vocal information training process as a sample input to the first feature monitoring network, and define the error loss1 of the model as threshold 1 when the model error is stable. Use the body temperature information training process as a sample input to the second feature monitoring network, and define the error loss2 as threshold 2 when the error is stable.

[0077] S3. Based on the error between the input sample and the model parameters, the model will output a comparison result with threshold 1 or threshold 2 to determine whether the sample is abnormal and send a corresponding instruction to the warning module 7.

[0078] S4, Alert module 7 issues corresponding alert information based on the received instructions.

[0079] This solution employs multimodal joint monitoring to assess the health status of chickens from two perspectives: vocalizations and body temperature, thereby improving monitoring accuracy. Vocalizations reflect the chickens' behavioral patterns and health status, while body temperature provides early warning of abnormalities. Combining these two pieces of information allows for a more comprehensive and accurate identification of abnormal situations.

[0080] The core objective of generative models is to learn the overall distribution of the data (i.e., the joint distribution), not just the conditional relationship between input data and labels. These models possess powerful modeling capabilities, capturing the underlying structure and patterns of the data. Especially when dealing with imbalanced data, generative models demonstrate superior ability, effectively inferring the full distribution of normal chicken calls and normal body temperatures, thereby identifying fewer outlier samples. Furthermore, generative models exhibit strong environmental transferability, adapting to different environmental changes and maintaining high performance even with a small number of training samples.

[0081] In this embodiment: the coughing sound of chickens is monitored in real time by acoustic sensor 4, the coughing sound information of chickens is collected and saved to the specified path on the terminal;

[0082] Using existing functions, Mel-Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) features are extracted from the collected vocal information to generate audio feature maps. The feature maps are then converted into image format and saved in a specified path as sample data for the first feature monitoring network.

[0083] In this scheme, MFCC, as a commonly used representation method for audio features, can effectively capture the spectral characteristics of audio signals and has good robustness for the recognition of speech and cough sounds.

[0084] In this embodiment: the body temperature of chickens is monitored in real time by temperature sensor 5, infrared thermal images of abnormal body temperatures of chickens are collected, and the images are saved to a specified path on the terminal as sample data for the second feature monitoring network.

[0085] In this solution: Since sick chickens often exhibit abnormal body temperatures (such as fever), infrared thermal imaging can be used as an auxiliary feature to improve the accuracy of identifying sick chickens. Thermal imaging uses infrared technology to reflect changes in the surface temperature of the chicken flock in real time, enabling precise identification of chickens with abnormal temperatures.

[0086] In this embodiment: when the error between the input call information and the first feature monitoring network is less than the threshold 1, it indicates that the chicken's coughing behavior is normal; when the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken has a health problem.

[0087] When the error between the input body temperature information and the second feature monitoring network is less than the threshold of 2, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is normal. When the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is abnormal and there is a health problem.

[0088] In this scheme, the two different types of feature maps are input into the Variational Autoencoder (VAE) model for training. A VAE is a generative model that can generate feature representations similar to the input data by learning the latent distribution of the input data. For the MFCC feature map, it is used as a sample input to the first feature detection network during training. When the model error stabilizes, the error loss1 of the model is defined as threshold 1. For the infrared thermal image, the second feature detection network adopts a similar training process, and when the error stabilizes, the error loss2 is defined as threshold 2.

[0089] After training, two independent feature monitoring networks were obtained. The first feature monitoring network was used for audio signal processing, and the second feature monitoring network was used for infrared thermal image analysis. During the testing phase, the test set included normal and abnormal samples, corresponding to the different behaviors of healthy and sick chickens, respectively. The test samples were input into the corresponding networks, and based on the error between the input samples and the model parameters, the model would output a comparison result with threshold 1 or threshold 2, thereby determining whether the sample was abnormal.

[0090] Specifically, when the error between the MFCC feature map of the input cough audio and that in the first feature monitoring network is less than a threshold of 1, it indicates that the chicken's coughing behavior is normal; when the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken may have a health problem and requires further examination. Similarly, by comparing the error of the infrared thermal image with that in the second feature monitoring network, chickens with abnormal body temperature can be identified. By combining audio and thermal imaging data, this method can effectively improve the accuracy of cough anomaly detection. Through independent training and analysis of different features using the VAE model, not only is the model's generalization ability optimized, but it also enables accurate identification of chicken coughing behavior and abnormal body temperature.

[0091] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all such modifications or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A chicken coop, comprising a hollow coop body (1), wherein a cage (2) for chickens to live in is provided inside the coop body (1), and a gap exists between the outer wall of the cage (2) and the inner wall of the coop body (1), characterized in that: An installation block (3) is provided in the gap between the shed body (1) and the cage body (2), and the installation block (3) is slidably connected to the inner side wall of the shed body (1) in the length direction of the shed body (1); An acoustic sensor (4) and a temperature sensor (5) are fixedly installed on the side of the mounting block (3) facing the cage (2). The acoustic sensor (4) is used to collect the sound information of the chickens in the cage (2), and the temperature sensor (5) is used to collect the body temperature information of the chickens in the cage (2). A processing module (6) and an alarm module (7) are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the shed (1). The processing module (6) is used to process the information collected by the acoustic sensor (4) and the temperature sensor (5) and send instructions to the alarm module (7). The alarm module (7) is used to issue alarm information according to the instructions. The side wall of the shed (1) is provided with ventilation holes (11) that connect the inside and outside of the shed (1), and an impeller (12) is rotatably fitted inside the ventilation holes (11). A linkage component is provided between the impeller (12) and the mounting block (3). When the mounting block (3) slides inside the shed (1), it drives the impeller (12) to rotate through the linkage component. The linkage assembly includes a gear (13) that is coaxially fixedly connected to one end of the impeller (12) facing the cage (2) and a rack (14) that meshes with the gear (13). The bottom surface of the rack (14) is fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block (3). The rack (14) includes a connecting strip (141) fixedly connected to the top surface of the mounting block (3) and a plurality of sliding strips (142) evenly arranged in the sliding direction of the mounting strip. The connecting strip (141) has a hollow structure with one end open facing the sliding direction of the mounting block (3). The slide bar (142) is perpendicular to the connecting bar (141). One end of the slide bar (142) penetrates the top wall of the connecting bar (141) and is inserted into the connecting bar (141). The slide bar (142) and the connecting bar (141) are in sliding engagement. The connecting strip (141) has a pusher (143) at its open end. The pusher (143) is wedge-shaped at the end facing the opening of the connecting strip (141), and its inclined surface faces the top wall of the connecting strip (141). The wedge-shaped end of the pusher (143) is inserted into the opening of the connecting strip (141) and slides with the connecting strip (141). When the bottom end of the slide bar (142) abuts against the top surface of the pusher (143), the top end of the slide bar (142) protrudes out of the top surface of the connecting strip (141) and inserts into the tooth groove of the gear (13).

2. The chicken shed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ventilation holes (11) are provided in multiple ways. The multiple ventilation holes (11) are evenly arranged along the sliding direction of the mounting block (3), and each of the multiple ventilation holes (11) is provided with an impeller (12).

3. The chicken shed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The push bar (143) is connected in series with a first lead screw (144) and is connected by a threaded engagement. The end of the first lead screw (144) facing away from the opening of the connecting bar (141) passes through the end wall of the connecting bar (141) and extends out of the connecting bar (141). The first lead screw (144) and the connecting bar (141) are rotatably engaged. The connecting strip (141) has a first motor (145) fixedly connected to one end facing away from the opening. The output end of the first motor (145) is fixedly connected to the first lead screw (144) on the same axis, and the first motor (145) is electrically connected to the processing module (6).

4. A method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks, comprising using a chicken coop as described in any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The monitoring methods are as follows: S1. Acoustic sensor (4) and temperature sensor (5) are used to collect the call information of chickens in cage (2) and the body temperature information of chickens in cage (2) respectively, and the collected information is transmitted to the variational autoencoder (VAE) model to train the variational autoencoder (VAE) model. S2. Learn the latent distribution of input data through VAE, generate feature representations similar to the input data, use the vocal information training process as a sample input to the first feature monitoring network, and define the error loss1 of the model as threshold 1 when the model error is stable. Use the body temperature information training process as a sample input to the second feature monitoring network, and define the error loss2 as threshold 2 when the error is stable. S3. Based on the error between the input sample and the model parameters, the model will output the comparison result with threshold 1 or threshold 2 to determine whether the sample is abnormal and send a corresponding instruction to the warning module (7). S4, Warning module (7) issues corresponding warning information according to the received instructions.

5. The method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks according to claim 4, characterized in that: The coughing sound of chickens is monitored in real time by acoustic sensor (4), the coughing sound information of chickens is collected and saved to the specified path of the terminal. Using existing functions, Mel-Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) features are extracted from the collected vocal information to generate audio feature maps. The feature maps are then converted into image format and saved in a specified path as sample data for the first feature monitoring network.

6. The method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks according to claim 4, characterized in that: The body temperature of chickens is monitored in real time by temperature sensor (5), and infrared thermal images of abnormal body temperature of chickens are collected and saved to the terminal's designated path as sample data for the second feature monitoring network.

7. The method for monitoring coughing in chicken flocks according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the error between the input call information and the first feature monitoring network is less than the threshold of 1, it indicates that the chicken's coughing behavior is normal. When the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken has a health problem. When the error between the input body temperature information and the second feature monitoring network is less than the threshold of 2, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is normal. When the error is greater than the threshold, it indicates that the chicken's body temperature is abnormal and there is a health problem.

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