Poultry house and barn

Abstract

To reduce stagnation of air within a poultry house.SOLUTION: A poultry house 10 is ventilated by a ventilation system 2. A plurality of air agitation devices 3 are provided for reducing stagnation of air within the poultry house 10 caused by the ventilation system 2. At least one of the plurality of air agitation devices 3 is configured to be movable within the poultry house 10 by means of a movement device 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to chicken houses and livestock houses. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in windowless chicken coops (also called sealed chicken coops) for laying hens, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, an intake duct has been installed on one gable wall and an exhaust fan has been installed on the other gable wall, with the intake duct outlets being positioned in different positions in the chicken coop.

[0003] However, as windowless poultry houses become larger, it is extremely difficult to ventilate the air inside uniformly even if the air outlets are arranged in different positions as described above. Specifically, in a windowless poultry house in which cages are arranged in a multi-layered hierarchical structure, it is difficult to ventilate the air inside the poultry house uniformly everywhere, and in some cases, stagnation of air may occur in some places. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-148567 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate stagnant air inside a chicken coop. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In other words, the chicken coop of the present invention is a chicken coop that is ventilated by a ventilation equipment, and is provided with a plurality of air agitation devices that reduce stagnation of air inside the chicken coop caused by the ventilation equipment, and at least one of the plurality of air agitation devices is configured to be movable inside the chicken coop by a moving device.

[0007] In such a chicken coop, at least one of the multiple air agitation devices that reduce air stagnation is configured to be movable inside the chicken coop by a moving device, so the air inside the chicken coop can be effectively agitated. As a result, air stagnation inside the chicken coop can be eliminated. Note that simply providing an air agitation device still causes air stagnation inside the chicken coop in a steady state, but in the present invention, the air agitation device moves inside the chicken coop, so the occurrence of air stagnation can be suppressed. By eliminating stagnant air with the present invention, it is possible to prevent dust, dirt, feathers, etc. from gathering in specific locations inside the chicken coop. Therefore, it is possible to prevent infectious diseases such as parasites, microorganisms, and viruses from gathering in specific locations inside the chicken coop. This reduces the possibility that parasites, microorganisms, and viruses will adversely affect the chicken coop, and reduces the risk of chickens becoming infected with infectious diseases.

[0008] By controlling the mixing operation in real time based on the conditions inside and outside the chicken coop, air stagnation can be further reduced. Therefore, it is desirable for the chicken coop of the present invention to further include a control device that controls the mixing operation of the air mixing device based on at least one of the air quality inside the chicken coop or environmental information outside the chicken coop. Here, the air quality inside the poultry house can include the temperature and humidity inside the poultry house, the concentration and amount of components in the air (e.g., carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), etc.), and the amount of dust, mites, feathers, etc. in the air. These can be measured by air quality sensors corresponding to each item. Note that, instead of air quality sensors, wind direction sensors that measure wind conditions, wind speed sensors, wind volume sensors, etc. may also be used. In addition, environmental information outside the chicken coop can include meteorological information such as weather, sunrise time, sunset time, sunshine hours, wind direction, wind speed and precipitation, or geographical conditions such as the location where the chicken coop is constructed.

[0009] Because ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment causes stagnant air inside the chicken house, it is desirable for the control device to control at least one of the agitation operation of the air agitator or the position of the air agitator inside the chicken house in conjunction with the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment. By controlling at least one of the agitation operation of the air agitator or its position in conjunction with the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment in this way, stagnation of air can be further reduced.

[0010] Inside the poultry house, there are places where air stagnation is likely to occur and places where air stagnation is unlikely to occur, and there are places where the agitation effect of the air agitator is strong and places where it is weak. Therefore, it is desirable for the control device to control the agitation operation of the air agitator based on the position of the air agitator moved by the moving device. Here, controlling the agitation operation can be performed by controlling the agitation strength (airflow volume) of the air agitator or by controlling the agitation direction (airflow direction) of the air agitator.

[0011] In addition, the livestock house according to the present invention is a livestock house that is ventilated by a ventilation equipment, and is characterized in that a plurality of air mixing devices are provided to reduce stagnation of air inside the livestock house caused by the ventilation equipment, and the mixing operation by the air mixing devices is coordinated with the ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment. In such a livestock barn, the agitation operation by the air agitator is coordinated with the ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment, so that stagnant air inside the barn can be eliminated. For example, as one of the ventilation operations of the ventilation equipment, when stagnant air is likely to occur in the center of the barn, the air agitator is controlled so as to agitate the air in the center of the barn.

[0012] It is desirable that the air agitator be configured so as to be movable inside the livestock house by a moving device. With this configuration, the air in areas where stagnant air has occurred due to the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment can be suitably stirred, and air stagnation can be further reduced. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention configured in this manner, the ventilation equipment is controlled based on at least one of the weather information for the area where the chicken coop is located or the operating status of the chicken coop's chicken manure discharge device, thereby creating a comfortable environment inside the chicken coop. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a chicken coop according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic example of a traveling feeding apparatus equipped with one or more air agitating devices. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a schematic diagram of another example in which one or more air agitating devices are provided in a traveling feeding apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, one embodiment of a chicken house ventilation system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in any of the drawings shown below, for the purpose of easy understanding, some parts are omitted or exaggerated in schematic form as appropriate. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

[0016] The chicken coop 10 of this embodiment is what is called a closed chicken coop (windowless chicken coop) for laying hens.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, this chicken coop 10 is a roughly rectangular parallelepiped building surrounded by four walls 10a-10d, and inside is provided cage rows 11 in which a number of cages for housing chickens are arranged in one direction. Figure 1 shows an example in which a number of (three in this case) cage rows 11 are provided. Each cage row 11 may also have a multi-layer structure in which a number of cages are stacked vertically.

[0018] Specifically, the chicken coop 10 is equipped with a ventilation equipment 2 that ventilates the air inside the chicken coop 10, an air agitator 3 that agitates the air inside the chicken coop 10, and a control device 4 that controls the ventilation equipment 2 and the air agitator 3.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the ventilation equipment 2 has one or more ventilation openings 21 that can be opened or closed and provided in a partition wall (any of walls 10a to 10d) that separates the inside and outside of the chicken coop 10, and one or more ventilation fans 22, such as intake fans or exhaust fans, provided in the partition wall (any of walls 10a to 10d) that separates the inside and outside of the chicken coop 10.

[0020] In this embodiment, the ventilation openings 21 are provided in the end side walls 10a, 10c perpendicular to the cage row 11 of the chicken coop 10. When multiple ventilation openings 21 are provided, the positions at which the ventilation openings 21 are provided can be set appropriately. For example, the ventilation openings 21 may be provided above and below the end side walls 10a, 10c, left and right, or diagonally. The ventilation openings 21 may also be provided in the girder side walls 10b, 10d that are aligned with the cage row 11. A cooling pad 23 may be provided in the ventilation opening 21.

[0021] Moreover, the ventilation fan 22 of the present embodiment is an exhaust fan that exhausts air from the inside of the poultry house 10 to the outside, or an intake fan that supplies air from the outside to the inside of the poultry house 10. Moreover, the ventilation fan 22 may be a blower that can switch between intake and exhaust.

[0022] The ventilation fans 22 are provided on the end walls 10a, 10c perpendicular to the cage row 11 of the chicken coop 10. When multiple ventilation fans 22 are provided, the positions at which the ventilation fans 22 are provided can be set appropriately, and for example, they may be disposed above and below the end walls 10a, 10c, left and right, or diagonally. The ventilation fans 22 may also be provided on the girder side walls 10b, 10d along the cage row 11.

[0023] Furthermore, any two or more of the ventilation openings 21 and the ventilation fans 22 (exhaust fans or intake fans) may be provided on the same wall. In other words, any two or more of the ventilation openings 21, exhaust fans, intake fans, and blowers may be provided on the gable side walls 10a, 10c. When a blower is used as the ventilation fan 22, the blower will function as the ventilation opening 21 in addition to the functions as the exhaust fan and intake fan.

[0024] The air agitator 3 reduces stagnation of air inside the poultry house 10 caused by the ventilation equipment 2. This air agitator 3 can be composed of, for example, an agitator fan. Furthermore, a plurality of air agitators 3 are provided inside the poultry house 10.

[0025] At least one of the multiple air agitation devices 3 is configured to be movable inside the chicken coop 10 by the movement device 5. The air agitation device 3 of the present embodiment is configured to be movable linearly along the cage row 11.

[0026] The air agitator 3 is not limited to a configuration in which it moves linearly along the cage row 11, but may be configured to move in a serpentine manner along the cage row 11, or may move in a direction intersecting the cage row 11, and various movement modes can be set. In addition, although Fig. 1 shows a configuration in which the air agitator 3 moves linearly on both sides of the cage row 11, the air agitator 3 may also move on one side of the cage row 11.

[0027] As a configuration for making the air agitator 3 movable, it is possible to mount the air agitator 3 on a dedicated moving device 5 as shown in Fig. 1. In this moving device 5, it is possible to mount the multiple air agitator 3 at different height positions, or to mount the multiple air agitator 3 so that their air blowing directions are different. It is also possible to make the air blowing volumes (rotation speeds) of the multiple air agitator 3 different from one another. Furthermore, in the moving device 5, the air agitator 3 is mounted so that its air blowing direction can be changed.

[0028] Here, the moving device 5 may be configured to move on the floor surface of the poultry house 10. The moving device 5 moves by, for example, rotating wheels driven by a travel drive motor. The moving device 5 may also be configured to move a moving member such as a rail provided inside the poultry house 10. The moving device 5 can be controlled by the control device 4.

[0029] 2 and 3, one or more air agitating devices 3 may be provided on a mobile feeding apparatus 6 provided in a chicken coop 10, so that the air agitating device 3 is movable. In this case, the mobile feeding apparatus 6 serves as the moving device 5.

[0030] The traveling feeding device 6 shown in Fig. 2 is of a type that travels above the cage rows 11. This traveling feeding device 6 travels on traveling rails 12 provided above and along the cage rows 11. The traveling feeding device 6 shown in Fig. 3 is of a type that travels on the floor surface between the cage rows 11. These traveling feeding devices 6 supply feed from a feed hopper 6a through a feed supply pipe 6b to a feed trough 13 of each cage row 11. In Figs. 2 and 3, reference numeral 14 denotes an egg collection belt that collects eggs from each cage row 11, and reference numeral 15 denotes an egg stopper that temporarily prevents eggs from moving from the cage row 11 to the egg collection belt 14.

[0031] The control device 4 controls the ventilation equipment 2, the air agitation device 3, and the moving device 5. The control device 4 is a so-called computer including, for example, a CPU, a memory, an A / D·D / A converter, an input / output means, a communication device, and the like.

[0032] Specifically, the control device 4 controls the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 based on at least one of the air quality inside the chicken coop 10 or environmental information outside the chicken coop 10. Here, the control device 4 controls the movement operation of the movement device 5 in conjunction with controlling the agitation operation of the air agitator 3. Note that the control device 4 can also control the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment 2 based on at least one of the air quality inside the chicken coop 10 or environmental information outside the chicken coop 10.

[0033] Specifically, the control device 4 can control at least the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 based on a sensor signal from an air quality sensor 7 (see FIG. 1) provided inside the poultry house 10. Here, the air quality sensor 7 measures the temperature, humidity, and concentration or amount of air components (e.g., carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), etc.) inside the poultry house 10, or the amount of dust, mites, feathers, etc. in the air. Note that instead of the air quality sensor 7, a wind direction sensor, wind speed sensor, wind volume sensor, etc. that measures wind conditions may be used.

[0034] The control device 4 can also control the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 based on meteorological information for the area where the poultry house 10 is located. Here, the meteorological information includes at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of weather, sunrise time, sunset time, sunshine hours, wind direction, wind speed, and precipitation. The control device 4 can obtain meteorological information via the Internet using a communication device.

[0035] Furthermore, the control device 4 can control at least one of the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 or the position of the air agitator 3 inside the chicken house in conjunction with the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment 2. For example, it is possible to control at least one of the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 or the position of the air agitator 3 inside the chicken house in conjunction with an increase or decrease in the number of operating ventilation fans 22, selection of the operating ventilation fans 22, increase or decrease in the rotation speed of the ventilation fans 22, increase or decrease in the opening degree of the ventilation port 21, or selection of the ventilation port 21 to be opened. Here, controlling the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 includes increasing or decreasing the agitation strength (airflow amount) of the air agitator 3, changing the agitation direction (airflow direction) of the air agitator 3, and the moving speed of the moving device 5. In addition, controlling the position of the air agitator 3 inside the chicken house includes controlling the moving device 5 on which the air agitator 3 is provided, and also includes switching the operating air agitator 3 among the multiple air agitators 3.

[0036] In addition, the control device 4 can also control the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 based on the position of the air agitator 3 moved by the moving device 5. For example, it is possible to control the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 near the end walls 10a, 10c of the chicken coop 10 and in the center of the chicken coop 10. Here, controlling the agitation operation of the air agitator 3 includes increasing or decreasing the agitation strength (airflow volume) of the air agitator 3, changing the agitation direction (airflow direction) of the air agitator 3, the moving speed of the moving device 5, etc.

[0037] In addition, in a configuration in which a plurality of air agitation devices 3 are provided, the control device 4 may control the ventilation operations of the plurality of air agitation devices 3 in different ways in each of the above-mentioned controls.

[0038] The control device 4 can also eliminate stagnation of air inside each cage by controlling the air agitator 3 to blow air toward each cage. In this case, it is considered that the air agitator 3 is provided for each cage floor. It is also considered that the agitation strength (airflow amount) and agitation direction (airflow direction) of the air agitator 3 can be made different between the cages on the upper floors and the cages on the lower floors.

[0039] <An example of ventilation and air mixing operations> Next, a cleaning operation inside the poultry house will be described as an example of the ventilation operation and air mixing operation in the poultry house 10.

[0040] First, the three traveling feeding apparatus 6 are placed on standby on one side of the end wall 10a (air inlet).

[0041] Then, the ventilation fan 22 (exhaust fan) is operated at an intensity of about 10% and increased to an intensity of 30%, and all ventilation openings 21 provided in the girder side walls 10b, 10d are closed. This limits the air flow to flow only from one end wall 10a to the other end wall 10c.

[0042] Next, the three mobile feeding devices 6 are caused to travel toward the other end wall 10c at a speed of, for example, 8 m per minute. At the same time, the agitating fan, which is the air agitating device 3, is operated at 100% strength.

[0043] When the mobile feeding device 6 reaches near the center of the chicken coop 10, of the ventilation openings 21 provided in the girder side walls 10b, 10d, the one located on the side wall 10a (air inlet) side is opened to 50%. In this state, the strength of the ventilation fan 22 (exhaust fan) is increased to 40%.

[0044] When the mobile feeding device 6 reaches approximately the remaining 1 / 3 of the cage row 11, the strength of the ventilation fan 22 (exhaust fan) is increased to 50%, and the ventilation openings 21 located in the center of the girder side walls 10b, 10d are opened to 50%.

[0045] When the traveling feeding device 6 reaches the other end wall 10c (ventilation fan 22), the strength of the ventilation fan 22 (exhaust fan) is increased to 50%, and among the ventilation openings 21 provided in the girder side walls 10b, 10d, the opening degree of the ventilation openings 21 located on the other end wall 10c (ventilation fan 22) side is set to 50%. After that, after continuing operation for three minutes, the ventilation fan 22 (exhaust fan) is stopped and all ventilation openings 21 provided in the girder side walls 10b, 10d are closed. This ends the operation of cleaning the inside of the chicken coop 10.

[0046] When the length of chicken coop 10 is about 100 m, one cycle of this interior cleaning operation is completed in about 10 to 15 minutes. The interior cleaning operation described above is one example, and can be changed as appropriate depending on the outside air temperature, the structure of chicken coop 10, the air quality at each point inside the chicken coop, etc. During the interior cleaning operation, it is desirable to close the chicken coop's manure discharge outlet (not shown) and stop the manure collection belt.

[0047] <Effects of this embodiment> According to the chicken coop 10 of this embodiment, at least one of the multiple air agitation devices 3 that reduce air stagnation is configured to be movable inside the chicken coop 10 by the movement device 5, so that the air inside the chicken coop 10 can be effectively agitated. As a result, air stagnation inside the chicken coop 10 can be eliminated. Note that simply providing the air agitation device 3 would still cause air stagnation inside the chicken coop 10 if the ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment 2 continued for a certain period of time, but in this embodiment, since the air agitation device 3 moves inside the chicken coop 10, the occurrence of air stagnation can be suppressed even if the ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment 2 continues for a certain period of time.

[0048] The chicken coop 10 of this embodiment eliminates stagnant air, thereby preventing dust, dirt, feathers, and the like from gathering in specific locations inside the chicken coop 10. This prevents parasites, microorganisms, and infectious diseases such as viruses from gathering in specific locations inside the chicken coop 10. This reduces the possibility that parasites, microorganisms, and viruses will adversely affect the chicken coop, and reduces the risk of chickens becoming infected with infectious diseases.

[0049] <Modified embodiment of the present invention> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0050] For example, an air quality sensor 7 may be provided on the moving device 5 or the mobile feeding device 6 to obtain air quality information in real time at each point inside the chicken coop 10, and the air agitating device 3 may be controlled in real time based on the air quality information. Here, it is conceivable to provide multiple air quality sensors 7 on the moving device 5 or the mobile feeding device 6 corresponding to each floor of the cage.

[0051] Furthermore, the multiple air agitating devices 3 may include those that are fixed to predetermined positions within the chicken coop 10, in addition to those that are configured to be movable by the moving device 5.

[0052] The control device 4 may be configured to change the control of the ventilation equipment 2, the air agitator 3, etc. based on the elapsed time to change the airflow, or may be configured to change the control of the ventilation equipment 2, the air agitator 3, etc. based on the conditions within the chicken coop 10 (e.g., air quality, wind speed, wind direction, etc.) and their changes over time or the amount of change, etc. to change the airflow.

[0053] In addition, the control device 4 may be configured to change the control of the ventilation equipment 2 related to the ventilation of the chicken coop 10 to vary the air flow when the control of the ventilation equipment 2 remains in the same state for a predetermined period of time, i.e., based on the elapsed time.

[0054] The control device 4 may be configured to generate new control contents for the control device 4 using a machine learning model (AI model) and output a control command including the new control contents. This control command may include a plurality of patterns of control contents (e.g., control pattern 1 and control pattern 2, etc.). Here, the machine learning model is, for example, a model trained by machine learning using temporal changes in the sensor signals of each air quality sensor 7 before and after a change in the control contents as a learning data set, and is stored in advance in the memory of the control device 4. Note that the learning data set may also include meteorological information, geographical conditions of the chicken coop, etc.

[0055] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to sealed chicken coops (windowless chicken coops), but can also be applied to other types of chicken coops, such as semi-sealed chicken coops and open chicken coops that have walls with curtains that can be opened or closed automatically or manually, and in which ventilation equipment such as ventilation fans is controlled to equalize the temperature inside the coop.

[0056] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to chicken houses, but can also be applied to other livestock or poultry houses.

[0057] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 10. Chicken coop 2. Ventilation equipment 3. Air mixing device 4. Control device 5. Mobile device 6 Mobile Feeding Device 7. Air Quality Sensor

Claims

1. A poultry house ventilated by a ventilation system, A plurality of air agitation devices are provided to reduce stagnation of air inside the chicken house caused by the ventilation equipment, At least one of the plurality of air agitation devices is configured to be movable within the chicken house by a moving device.

2. The chicken house of claim 1, further comprising a control device that controls the agitation operation of the air agitation device based on at least one of air quality inside the chicken house or environmental information outside the chicken house.

3. The chicken house according to claim 2 , wherein the control device controls at least one of the agitation operation of the air agitation device or the position of the air agitation device within the chicken house in conjunction with the ventilation operation of the ventilation equipment.

4. The chicken house according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control device controls the agitation operation of the air agitator based on a position of the air agitator moved by the moving device.

5. A livestock house ventilated by a ventilation system, A plurality of air agitation devices are provided to reduce stagnation of air inside the livestock house caused by the ventilation equipment, A livestock house, in which the agitation operation by the air agitation device is linked to the ventilation operation by the ventilation equipment.

6. The livestock house according to claim 5 , wherein the air agitator is configured to be movable inside the livestock house by a moving device.

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