Abnormal hen information management system

Abstract

The present invention provides an abnormal hen information management system that infers causes of occurrence of abnormal hens which include a dead hen and the like. The present invention is an abnormal hen information management system 100 in a poultry pen 10 that accommodates egg-laying hens in each of prescribed feeding areas 11, said abnormal hen information management system 100 comprising: an abnormal hen information recording unit 31 that records, in time series, pieces of abnormal hen information which include at least two-dimensional or three-dimensional position information and the number of abnormal hens in the poultry pen 10 in an abnormal hen occurrence area 11x; and a cause inference unit 32 that infers the cause of the occurrence of the abnormal hen on the basis of information pertaining to the temporal transition of the abnormal hen occurrence area 11x and / or the temporal transition of the number of abnormal hens, the information being obtained from the pieces of the abnormal hen information which have been recorded in the abnormal hen information recording unit 31.

Description

Abnormal Chicken Information Management System

[0001] The present invention relates to an abnormal chicken information management system.

[0002] In recent years, high-density large-scale poultry farming has become widespread, and there are cases where more than 100,000 chickens are raised in a single chicken house. When raising 100,000 chickens, statistically about 20 dead chickens occur every day. Causes of these dead chickens include cases caused by stress, fights between chickens (such as pecking at each other's tails), being caught by feeding machines, and equipment troubles such as failures of drinking fountains, ventilation equipment, and the like. In addition, chickens may die from causes such as avian influenza, gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory diseases and the like.

[0003] On the other hand, as shown in Non-Patent Document 1, it is recommended that workers perform daily patrol work inside the chicken house for the purpose of finding dead chickens, for example, inspecting equipment such as feeders and drinking fountains, and observing the health condition of chickens. When a dead chicken is found, it is necessary to remove it from the cage and dispose of it to prevent the spread of disease and putrefaction. In addition, the number of dead chickens found, the locations where they occurred, and other information are recorded and managed in paper ledgers. In some cases, after workers return to the office, they input the information into a personal computer for management.

[0004] Livestock Industry Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Technical Guidelines for Feeding and Management of Laying Hens", No. 5 Livestock 1066, dated July 26, 2023

[0005] By the way, the inventor of the present application has studied that, by effectively utilizing information such as the number and occurrence locations of dead and weak chickens collected during patrol work, the cause of chicken death can be estimated, and early countermeasures can be taken against the cause of death. In particular, if it can be estimated that the cause of chicken death or weakening is highly pathogenic avian influenza, effective countermeasures for preventing the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has become a problem in recent years, can be implemented in the early stage of infection. As a result, damage caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza can be minimized, and the economic effect thereof is immeasurable.

[0006] Furthermore, according to the "Guidelines for the Prevention of Specific Infectious Diseases in Livestock Related to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Lowly Pathogenic Avian Influenza" announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on July 1, 2020 (partially amended on October 31, 2024), poultry owners, veterinarians, etc., are required to report to the Animal Health Division if the daily mortality rate of poultry is more than twice the average mortality rate of poultry during the target period (the 21 days preceding that day).

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an abnormal chicken information management system that estimates the causes of abnormal chicken occurrences, including dead chickens.

[0008] In other words, the abnormal chicken information management system according to the present invention is an abnormal chicken information management system for a chicken house that houses laying hens in each of predetermined rearing areas, and is characterized by comprising: an abnormal chicken information recording unit that records abnormal chicken information including two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information and the number of abnormal chickens in the chicken house of at least the abnormal chicken occurrence area in a time series; and an occurrence cause estimation unit that estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken occurrence based on information on the time series changes of the abnormal chicken occurrence area and / or the time series changes in the number of abnormal chickens obtained from the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit.

[0009] This abnormal chicken information management system allows for accurate estimation of the causes of abnormal chicken occurrences by focusing on the temporal changes in the areas where abnormal chickens have occurred and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens. Note that abnormal chickens include dead chickens, weakened chickens, etc.

[0010] For example, if the number of dead chickens rapidly increases 24 hours after the initial outbreak, and the spread is in the direction of ventilation in the chicken coop, it can be estimated that the cause of the dead chickens is a highly virulent infectious disease such as highly virulent avian influenza. Also, if the number of dead chickens increases in the direction of ventilation in the chicken coop, but the number of dead chickens is not very large even after 48 hours, it can be estimated that the cause of the dead chickens is a less virulent infectious disease such as less virulent avian influenza. Furthermore, if a dead chicken occurs alone, it can be estimated that the cause is, for example, pecking behavior due to stress. In addition, if multiple dead chickens occur in a single rearing area (cage), it can be estimated that the cause of the dead chickens is, for example, a water outage due to a clogged water dispenser in that cage.

[0011] The aforementioned cause estimation unit may estimate the cause of abnormal chicken outbreaks based on information on the temporal changes in the area where abnormal chickens occur and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens, as well as information on environmental factors including wind direction and / or temperature within the chicken house, or information on the positional relationships of multiple areas where abnormal chickens occur within a single chicken house. With this configuration, since environmental factors including wind direction and / or temperature within the chicken house, or the positional relationships of multiple areas where abnormal chickens occur, are also taken into consideration, the cause of abnormal chicken outbreaks can be estimated with even greater accuracy.

[0012] The aforementioned cause estimation unit may also estimate the cause of abnormal chicken outbreaks using a machine learning model. Here, the machine learning model is obtained by machine learning training data of the temporal changes in past areas where abnormal chicken outbreaks occurred and / or the temporal changes in abnormal chickens, and the causes of abnormal chicken outbreaks. With this configuration, the cause of abnormal chicken outbreaks can be estimated with even greater accuracy.

[0013] As mentioned above, workers conduct daily inspections of the chicken coop. During these inspections, they record the number of dead chickens and the locations where deaths occurred in a paper ledger. If workers could carry a portable terminal that could transfer abnormal chicken information to an abnormal chicken information management system during inspections, and input the information easily at the scene of discovery, abnormal chicken information could be collected without burdening the workers. For this reason, the abnormal chicken information management system of the present invention is operable by workers within the chicken coop and further includes a portable terminal for inputting the abnormal chicken information. The abnormal chicken information recording unit may record the abnormal chicken information entered by the portable terminal in chronological order. With this configuration, abnormal chicken information can be easily entered during chicken coop inspections, reducing the burden on workers. Furthermore, since chicken coop inspections are conducted at least once a day, and sometimes two to three times a day depending on the poultry farm, inputting abnormal chicken information using the portable terminal at that time would update the abnormal chicken information at least once a day.

[0014] The abnormal chicken information management system of the present invention further comprises an imaging camera that is manually or automatically moved along a predetermined rearing area within the chicken coop, and an abnormal chicken information generation unit that counts the number of abnormal chickens from images captured by the imaging camera and generates abnormal chicken information. The abnormal chicken information recording unit may record the abnormal chicken information generated by the abnormal chicken information generation unit in chronological order. With this configuration, abnormal chicken information, including the number of abnormal chickens, can be recorded on a time-by-time basis simply by imaging a predetermined rearing area with the imaging camera. As a result, the need for operators to input data into their mobile terminals can be eliminated. In addition to operators inputting abnormal chicken information into their mobile terminals, imaging with the imaging camera may also be performed. Furthermore, location information can be acquired by equipping a mobile terminal or a moving camera with a GNSS receiver (e.g., a GPS receiver). Also, the smallest unit of location information (positioning accuracy of the GNSS receiver) does not need to be a single rearing area, but may be a location within the chicken coop including errors. Furthermore, the planar position can be obtained using a GNSS receiver, and height information can be input to a mobile device to obtain (three-dimensional) information in the height direction.

[0015] The abnormal chicken information recording unit may be configured to classify and record abnormal chickens into multiple classification categories, including at least dead chickens. With this configuration, since abnormal chickens are classified into multiple classification categories, including at least dead chickens, the cause of the occurrence can be estimated with greater accuracy.

[0016] Furthermore, the abnormal chicken information management system according to the present invention is an abnormal chicken information management system for a chicken house that houses laying hens in each predetermined rearing area, and is operable by an operator within the chicken house, and is characterized by comprising a portable terminal for inputting abnormal chicken information, including at least two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information of the abnormal chicken occurrence area in the chicken house and the number of abnormal chickens, and an abnormal chicken information recording unit that records the abnormal chicken information input by the portable terminal in chronological order. With this configuration, abnormal chicken information can be easily input during chicken house inspection work, reducing the burden on the operator. Also, since chicken house inspection work is performed at least once a day, and two to three times a day depending on the poultry farm, abnormal chicken information can be input using the portable terminal at that time, so the abnormal chicken information will be updated at least once a day. Since the abnormal chicken information is recorded hourly, the cause of the abnormal chicken occurrence can be estimated based on the temporal changes in the abnormal chicken occurrence area and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens.

[0017] According to the present invention configured in this manner, it is possible to provide an abnormal chicken information management system that estimates the cause of the occurrence of abnormal chickens.

[0018] This figure schematically shows an abnormal chicken information management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. This is a schematic diagram showing an example of cage location information in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the state on the day a dead chicken was discovered in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing the state the day after a dead chicken was discovered in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing (a) the operator read completion screen and (b) the default screen in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing (a) the cage area including the abnormal cage and (b) the cage selection screen in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing (a) the abnormal selection screen before input and (b) the abnormal selection screen after input in the same embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing (a) the patrol completion screen and (b) the abnormal chicken information screen in the same embodiment. This figure schematically shows an abnormal chicken information management system according to a modified embodiment.

[0019] The following describes various embodiments of the abnormal chicken information management system according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that, for the sake of clarity, all the following figures are schematic representations, with some parts omitted or exaggerated as appropriate. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

[0020] <Configuration of the Abnormal Chicken Information Management System> As shown in Figure 1, the Abnormal Chicken Information Management System 100 of this embodiment manages abnormal chickens in a chicken house 10 that houses one or more laying hens in each of the predetermined rearing areas (in this case, cages 11).

[0021] Here, the chicken house 10 is an egg-laying chicken house with artificial environmental control functions, such as a sealed chicken house (windowless chicken house). In this chicken house 10, multiple cage rows 12, each consisting of multiple cages 11 connected along one direction, are arranged in both the vertical and horizontal directions. In this embodiment, two cage rows 12 are adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction and are arranged in multiple tiers (four tiers in this case) in the vertical direction.

[0022] Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the abnormal chicken information management system 100 manages abnormal chicken information, including two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information and the number of abnormal chickens in the chicken coop 10 of at least the abnormal chicken occurrence area (hereinafter referred to as abnormal cage 11x), and comprises a portable terminal 2 for inputting abnormal chicken information and a management server 3 for managing abnormal chicken information.

[0023] The mobile terminal 2 is a device that can be carried and operated by a worker within the chicken coop 10, and is, for example, a smartphone or tablet. This mobile terminal 2 receives information about abnormal chickens, including the two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information of the abnormal cage 11x within the chicken coop 10 and the number of abnormal chickens. Here, an example of how the three-dimensional location information of the abnormal cage 11x is represented is shown in Figure 2. In Figure 2, a group of cage rows 12 consisting of a total of eight cage rows, two rows on the left and two rows on the right and four rows on the top and bottom, is referred to as a "mountain". The cage numbers of each cage row are numbered 1, 2, 3, ... sequentially from one end.

[0024] In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 2 receives information about abnormal chickens, including not only the two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information of the abnormal cage 11x (e.g., mountain number, left / right information, and cage number) and the number of abnormal chickens, but also the type of abnormal chicken (e.g., dead chicken, accidental death chicken (guillotine chicken), weakened chicken, other abnormal chicken, etc.). Specifically, the mobile terminal 2 receives the number of abnormal chickens for each type. The mobile terminal 2 can also receive information about the actions taken to deal with the abnormal chickens (e.g., removal or observation). The specific input screen for the mobile terminal 2 will be described later.

[0025] The management server 3 manages information about abnormal chickens entered by the mobile terminal 2 and estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken occurrence from this information. This management server 3 is connected to the mobile terminal 2 via a network so that it can communicate with it.

[0026] The management server 3 can be configured as a computer having a CPU, memory, input / output interfaces, an AD converter, input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, display devices such as a display, and communication devices. Furthermore, the management server 3 may be configured as a single computer or as multiple computers. In addition, the management server 3 may be a cloud server.

[0027] Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the management server 3 has an abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 and an occurrence cause estimation unit 32.

[0028] The abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 records abnormal chicken information entered by the mobile terminal 2 in chronological order (by time). Recording abnormal information in chronological order means, for example, recording it according to the time (patrol time) when the chicken coop 10 was inspected. In other words, the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 records abnormal chicken information for each inspection.

[0029] For example, if patrols are performed once a day, the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 records abnormal chicken information on a daily basis. If patrols are performed twice a day, the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 records abnormal chicken information every half day (every 12 hours), and if patrols are performed once every two days, it records abnormal chicken information every two days.

[0030] Furthermore, the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 can also classify and record abnormal chickens into multiple classification categories. Here, the multiple classification categories are the types of abnormal chickens input from the mobile terminal 2 (for example, dead chickens, accidental death chickens (guillotine chickens), weakened chickens, other abnormal chickens, etc.). In addition, the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 can record various types of information input from the mobile terminal 2 according to the patrol work time.

[0031] The cause estimation unit 32 estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken outbreak based on information on the temporal changes in abnormal cages and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens, which are obtained from the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31. Specifically, the cause estimation unit 32 estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken outbreak based on four-dimensional information on the temporal changes in abnormal cages and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens during multiple patrol operations.

[0032] Furthermore, the cause estimation unit 32 estimates the cause of the abnormal chickens based on information on the temporal changes in the number of abnormal cages and / or the number of abnormal chickens, as well as information on environmental factors including wind direction and / or temperature within the chicken house 10, or information on the positional relationship of multiple abnormal cages 11x within a single chicken house 10. Information on environmental factors, including wind direction and temperature within the chicken house 10, can be input into the mobile terminal 2 or transmitted from the chicken house 10 control system (not shown) to the management server 3.

[0033] Furthermore, the cause estimation unit 32 can also estimate the cause of abnormal chicken occurrence using a machine learning model. Here, the machine learning model is obtained by machine learning training data on the temporal changes of past abnormal cages and / or abnormal chickens, and the causes of abnormal chicken occurrence.

[0034] <Example of estimation of the cause of occurrence by the cause estimation unit 32> Below, we will explain an example of the estimation of the cause of abnormal chickens by the cause estimation unit 32.

[0035] The cause estimation unit 32 can estimate the cause of an abnormal chicken occurrence, such as a dead chicken, within the chicken coop 10, based on the subsequent time elapsed and the extent to which the dead chickens spread.

[0036] <Example 1> One chicken dies in cage 26 on the right side of the 4th floor (see Figure 3). The next day (see Figure 4), a total of eight chickens die in four surrounding cages. In this case, the spread of the dead chickens rapidly expands 24 hours after the initial outbreak (cage 26 on the right side of the 4th floor), and expands in the direction of ventilation of the chicken house 10. Therefore, it can be estimated that the cause of the dead chickens is a highly virulent infectious disease such as highly virulent avian influenza.

[0037] <Example 2 of estimation> One chicken dies in cage 26 on the right side of the 4th floor (see Figure 3). The next day, one chicken dies in cage 27 downwind. The day after that, three chickens die nearby. In this case, although the spread of dead chickens is expanding in the direction of ventilation in the chicken coop, the number of dead chickens is not that large even after 48 hours, so it can be estimated that the cause of the dead chickens is a weakly virulent infectious disease such as weakly virulent avian influenza.

[0038] <Example 3> One chicken died in cage 26 on the right side of the 4th floor (see Figure 3). The next day, there was no change in nearby cages. The day after that, there was no change in nearby cages. In this case, since the death of the chicken was isolated, the cause of the death can be estimated to be, for example, pecking behavior due to stress. In this case, it is advisable to instruct workers to observe the rear end of the dead chicken.

[0039] If multiple chickens die in the same enclosure (cage), the cause of death can be estimated to be, for example, a clogged water dispenser in the cage, resulting in a water outage. In the event of a water outage, the chickens in the cage will die within about three days (usually 6 to 8 chickens per cage). While a prolonged inability to feed due to a feeder malfunction will reduce egg production, chickens will not die within three days unless they are extremely weak.

[0040] <Method for inputting abnormal chicken information using mobile terminal 2> Next, a method for inputting abnormal chicken information using mobile terminal 2 will be described. In this embodiment, the information can be input only by touch operation on the display of mobile terminal 2.

[0041] By touching the icon displayed on the screen of mobile device 2, the abnormal chicken management application (software) installed on mobile device 2 is launched.

[0042] When the abnormal chicken management app is launched, the operator who will perform the patrol work is registered. Here, the operator is registered by entering the operator's ID. Specifically, the operator is registered by reading the identifier assigned to each operator (for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code) with the camera of mobile device 2. Alternatively, the operator may manually enter the operator ID.

[0043] Once the worker registration is complete, the mobile terminal 2's display shows the worker registration completion screen W1, as shown in Figure 5(a). This worker registration completion screen W1 displays a "Start Patrol" button, and when this button is touched, the abnormal chicken management app switches to chicken coop patrol mode. Then, the mobile terminal 2's display shows the default screen W2, as shown in Figure 5(b). The patrol route for the chicken coop 10 may be predetermined or it may be left to the worker's discretion.

[0044] In the poultry house patrol mode, a camera for reading the cage area identifier 20 described later (for example, a two-dimensional barcode such as a QR code, see FIG. 1 and FIG. 6(a)) is activated. On the default screen W2, a "In-poultry-house QR scan" screen for reading the cage area identifier 20 is displayed. Additionally, a "Done" button for exiting the poultry house patrol mode is displayed on the default screen W2. Even if the mobile terminal 2 goes to sleep during poultry house patrol, the default screen W2 will be launched when the mobile terminal 2 is activated.

[0045] When a worker finds an abnormal chicken during poultry house patrol, the worker captures and reads the cage area identifier 20 attached to the cage area including the abnormal cage with the camera of the mobile terminal 2. In the present embodiment, the cage area is, for example, an area including a total of 8 cages: 2 cages in the front-rear direction and 4 cages in the vertical direction, but the number of cages included is not limited to this. When the cage area identifier 20 is read, a cage selection screen W3 is displayed as shown in FIG. 6(b). On this cage selection screen W3, selection buttons for a plurality of cages are displayed corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of cages in the cage area (see FIG. 6(a)).

[0046] Then, the worker performs a touch operation on the selection button corresponding to the abnormal cage (here, "4th Floor-22") from among the plurality of cage selection buttons displayed on the cage selection screen W3.

[0047] After selecting the abnormal cage, an abnormality selection screen W4 is displayed as shown in FIG. 7(a). This abnormality selection screen W4 is a screen for inputting the type and number of abnormal chickens. On the abnormality selection screen W4 of the present embodiment, a "Dead Chicken" button, a "Lethargic (weakened chicken)" button, an "Other" button, a "Enter Number" button, and an "OK" button are displayed.

[0048] On this abnormality selection screen W4, first, the type of abnormal chicken is selected. Then, the number of chickens having the same symptom in the same cage is input (see FIG. 7(b)). After inputting the information for the same symptom in the same cage, a user performs a touch operation on an "OK" button. By touching the "OK" button, the input data is automatically stored in a memory of the mobile terminal 2 together with time data. Further, by touching the "OK" button, the mobile terminal 2 displays a default screen W2 (see FIG. 5(b)).

[0049] Here, if there is another type of abnormal chicken in the above-mentioned abnormal cage, the user reads the cage area identifier 20 again, selects the abnormal cage (here, "4th floor - 22"), selects the different type, inputs the number of abnormal chickens, and then performs a touch operation on the "OK" button.

[0050] Further, when an abnormal chicken is found in another cage included in the above cage area, the user reads the cage area identifier 20 again, selects the abnormal cage (e.g., "2nd floor - 21"), selects the type of abnormal chicken, inputs the number of abnormal chickens, and then performs a touch operation on the "OK" button.

[0051] A worker patrols the henhouse 10 while repeating the above operation, and when the patrol is completed, the worker performs a touch operation on a "complete" button on the default screen W2, and as shown in FIG. 8(a), performs a touch operation on an "OK" button displayed on a patrol completion screen W5.

[0052] When the "OK" button on the patrol completion screen W5 is touched, an abnormal chicken information screen W6 is displayed on a display of the mobile terminal 2 as shown in FIG. 8(b). On this abnormal chicken information screen W6, a list of abnormal chicken information (cage number, abnormality type, number of chickens) input in the current patrol is displayed. Further, on the abnormal chicken information screen W6, a "transfer" button for transmitting the abnormal chicken information to the management server 3 is displayed.

[0053] When the "Transfer" button on the abnormal chicken information screen W6 is touched, the abnormal chicken information stored in the memory of the mobile terminal 2 is transferred to the management server 3 along with the time data for each abnormal chicken. If the management server 3 is located in the office (not shown) of the chicken coop 10, this data transfer can be performed after returning to the office, for example, by short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi.

[0054] <Effects of this embodiment> According to the abnormal chicken information management system 100 of this embodiment, by focusing on the changes in abnormal cages 11x over time and / or the changes in abnormal chickens over time, the cause of the occurrence of abnormal chickens can be estimated with high accuracy.

[0055] Furthermore, abnormal chicken information can be easily entered using the mobile terminal 2 during inspections of the chicken coop 10, reducing the burden on workers. In addition, since chicken coop inspections are performed at least once a day, and sometimes two to three times a day depending on the poultry farm, entering abnormal chicken information using the mobile terminal 2 at that time ensures that the abnormal chicken information is updated at least once a day.

[0056] <Modified Embodiments of the Invention> However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

[0057] For example, inputting abnormal chicken information into the mobile terminal 2 is not limited to touch operation; it may also be done using the keyboard on the mobile terminal 2.

[0058] Furthermore, the abnormal chicken information recorded on the management server 3 may be output daily, weekly, or monthly (e.g., as a CSV file), or the abnormal chicken information may be output for each cage row (e.g., as a CSV file).

[0059] Furthermore, the management server 3 may, based on the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31, display information on the temporal changes of abnormal cages 11x and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens on a three-dimensional model of the chicken house 10 or multiple cage rows 12 in an identifiable manner. For example, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the cages and number of abnormal chickens may be displayed on a daily basis, or they may be superimposed and displayed in an identifiable manner on a daily basis.

[0060] In the above embodiment, a cage area identifier 20 is provided for each cage area containing multiple cages 11. However, it is also possible to provide a cage identifier for each cage and input cage location information by reading the cage identifier with the mobile terminal 2. Alternatively, it is also possible to configure the system so that the worker inputs the cage number without reading the identifier.

[0061] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9, the abnormal chicken information management system 100 may further include an imaging camera 4 that is manually or automatically moved along a plurality of cage rows 12 inside the chicken coop 10, and an abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 that generates abnormal chicken information, including the location information of abnormal cages 11x and the number of abnormal chickens, from images captured by the imaging camera 4.

[0062] The imaging camera 4 may acquire still images or moving images. If the imaging camera 4 is to be moved manually, it is conceivable to use a camera provided on the mobile terminal 2. If the imaging camera 4 is to be moved automatically, it is conceivable to install it on a feeder or mobile device that moves along a row of cages.

[0063] The abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 can be installed in the mobile terminal 2 or the management server 3. If the abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 is installed in the management server 3, a large amount of image data will be transmitted from the mobile terminal 2 to the management server 3. For this reason, it is desirable to install the abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 in the mobile terminal 2.

[0064] The abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 uses image data captured by the imaging camera 4 to identify the presence or absence of abnormal chickens and their types. The abnormal chicken information generation unit 5 then identifies abnormal cages 11x and the number of abnormal chickens from the image data. Location information can be obtained by equipping a mobile terminal 2 or a moving imaging camera 4 with a GNSS receiver (e.g., a GPS receiver). The smallest unit of location information (the positioning accuracy of the GNSS receiver) does not need to be a single rearing area, but may be a location within the chicken coop 10, including errors. Furthermore, the planar position can be obtained by the GNSS receiver, and height information can be input to the mobile terminal to obtain height direction (three-dimensional) information.

[0065] Furthermore, although the abnormal chicken information management system 100 of the above embodiment had a configuration that included an occurrence cause estimation unit 32, it may also have a configuration that does not include an occurrence cause estimation unit 32. Even in this case, the occurrence cause can be estimated by transmitting the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31 to an analysis device separate from the abnormal chicken information management system 100. Alternatively, the occurrence cause can also be estimated by having a person analyze the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit 31.

[0066] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from its spirit.

[0067] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an abnormal chicken information management system that estimates the cause of the occurrence of abnormal chickens, including dead chickens.

[0068] 100... Abnormal chicken information management system 10... Chicken coop 11... Rearing area (cage) 12... Cage row 2... Mobile terminal 3... Management server 31... Abnormal chicken information recording unit 32... Cause estimation unit 4... Imaging camera 5... Abnormal chicken information generation unit

Claims

1. An abnormal chicken information management system for a chicken house that houses laying hens in each of its designated rearing areas, comprising: an abnormal chicken information recording unit that records abnormal chicken information including two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information and the number of abnormal chickens in the chicken house of at least the abnormal chicken occurrence area in a time series; and an occurrence cause estimation unit that estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken occurrence based on information on the time series changes of the abnormal chicken occurrence area and / or the time series changes in the number of abnormal chickens obtained from the abnormal chicken information recorded in the abnormal chicken information recording unit.

2. The abnormal chicken information management system according to claim 1, wherein the cause estimation unit estimates the cause of the abnormal chicken outbreak based on information on the temporal changes in the area where abnormal chickens occur and / or the temporal changes in the number of abnormal chickens, as well as information on environmental factors including wind direction and / or temperature inside the chicken house, or information on the positional relationship of multiple areas where abnormal chickens occur within a single chicken house.

3. The abnormal chicken information management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cause estimation unit estimates the cause of abnormal chicken occurrence using a machine learning model.

4. The abnormal chicken information management system according to claim 1 or 2, which is operable by an operator within the chicken coop and further comprises a portable terminal for inputting the abnormal chicken information, wherein the abnormal chicken information recording unit records the abnormal chicken information input by the portable terminal on a time-by-time basis.

5. The abnormal chicken information management system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: an imaging camera that is manually or automatically moved within the chicken house along a predetermined rearing area; and an abnormal chicken information generation unit that counts the number of abnormal chickens from images captured by the imaging camera and generates abnormal chicken information, wherein the abnormal chicken information recording unit records the abnormal chicken information generated by the abnormal chicken information generation unit in chronological order.

6. The abnormal chicken information management system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the abnormal chicken information recording unit classifies and records abnormal chickens into a plurality of classification categories, including at least dead chickens.

7. An abnormal chicken information management system for a chicken house that houses laying hens in each of its designated rearing areas, comprising: a portable terminal that can be operated by an operator within the chicken house and is used to input abnormal chicken information including at least two-dimensional or three-dimensional location information and the number of abnormal chickens in the chicken house of the abnormal chicken occurrence area; and an abnormal chicken information recording unit that records the abnormal chicken information input by the portable terminal in chronological order.

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