Building a better chicken coop

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This article was published 24/09/2018 (2587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Poultry fanciers will soon be able to head off for a short vacation and care for their flock remotely.

Ukkö Robotics co-founders and engineers Daniel Badiou and Katrina Jean-Laflamme held a public launch of their autonomous poultry tractor — Rova at an event hosted by North Forge Technology Exchange on Sept. 19.

“We came to the realization that maybe we have been looking at the barn design wrong this whole time,” said Badiou, in a news release. “The traditional poultry barn is ineffective and outdated. We believe that a completely automated, moving barn can solve many issues that traditional barns currently have, such as lack of time and high labour costs. Our design and mobile app now make it possible for farmers and non-farmers to raise the animals they want with ease.”

Capable of housing between five and 200 laying hens or broiler chickens, the Rova operates exclusively on solar power with a five-day battery reserve. The module structure can be added onto and contains a water tank and feed bin that can both be filled to provide water and foods for the flock.

“We’re trying to make everything accessible from the outside,” Badiou said.

The structure is capable of moving onto a fresh patch of pasture through pre-programming using a mobile app. The unit contains a 360-degree monitoring system that provides information on temperature, water and food supplies and eggs laid within the Rova.  A nesting box can be installed for laying hens and the Rova is capable of storing eggs safely for up to three days.

An onboard GPS gives farmers the ability to track field position and predetermine Rova’s path without manual intervention. Rova has a set of metal wheels with springs and Badiou said it’s capable of moving over uneven terrain. Badiou said Rova’s movements can be programmed using Google maps and the structure can be set to move as often as every four minutes.

“Move more than that and the chickens don’t like it,” he said.

Flaps open and close to maintain a suitable interior temperature. Badiou said Rova’s computer system can also alert owners to sudden weather changes and take action to batten down the hatches.

Rova continually collects data through the mobile app to improve and update its system.
Badiou compared the Rova unit to a piece of Ikea furniture as it will come in a flat package with instructions for assembly. “It should take two people about a day to assemble it,” he said. Its modular structure allows for easy expansion.

The Rova will also come with instructions on using the app that controls the structure.

“We are filling pre-orders for spring 2019,” Badiou said.

Ukkö Robotics is now renting space from North Forge in the University of Manitoba’s SmartPark, but Badiou and Laflamme are planning on relocating to larger premises to enable commercial production of the Rova units.

Badiou grew up on a dairy farm near Notre Dame de Lourdes, Man. and said he’s pleased to be able to combine his engineering skills with agriculture to offer farmers a new way of housing and tending their poultry.

“We’re adapting the attachment for other small animals,” he said, with the hopes of soon offering a Rova for sheep and goats.

He admits that Rova can’t be used in the same way in the winter, but could serve as a housing structure with the addition of electrical heaters.

Badiou said the Rova name came from the lunar Rover, the space exploration vehicle that was used to explore the moon’s surface.

The next step in Rova’s development is testing in the southern U.S.