New technology: Robot can do €10,000 per year of henhouse work

A PoultryBot could be just what your hens need to liven up their boring day!

Even more welcome, it will take over some of your manual labour, and be an extra set of eyes and ears with a continuous presence among your poultry.

By identifying and collecting missing eggs, this machine can save poultry farmers thousands of euros per year.

The robot also has sensors that can measure the henhouse climate, or detect sick hens.

As for the hens, they adapt quickly to the new arrival, which soon becomes something of a playmate for the flock.

It is yet another innovation from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.

Its time has come because of the transition from battery cages to modern loose housing systems.

In loose housing, hens lay most of their eggs in their nests, but some end up in the bedding, on the floor.

Collection of the “floor eggs” is necessary and time-consuming.

In an average-sized flock under Dutch conditions, of about 30,000 laying hens, collecting floor eggs requires about one hour of labour per day.

It’s a delicate job for a robot, but manageable thanks to a special camera used to find the eggs, and a helical collection spring which the robot lowers over the egg.

Production of the robot is at an early stage.

Researchers have speculated that if collecting floor eggs costs about €10,000 per year in a henhouse, and the robot has a lifetime of five years, the price might be around €50,000.