π-ineers

Project undertaken in course year 2018-2019 with Pie Ranch Organic Farm

Project Goal

Design a chicken containment and predator protection system that works with a commercial lateral move irrigation system to provide hybrid chickens with safe, regular access to fresh pasture, and to irrigate the freshly chicken-fertilized pastureland

Project Motivation

Rotational farming sinks nutrients that would otherwise escape as greenhouse gases into the soil. Decreasing the time and labor necessary to move chicken enclosures makes this sustainable farming practice much more accessible to aspiring organic farms. Overall, the project aims to promote healthy land, happy chickens, and satisfied customers.

Background

Rotational grazing, which is the act of moving livestock across a field so that they can evenly fertilize it, will only be successful if the livestock can easily be moved from one section of the pastureland to another.
The fencing implemented should be strong enough to contain the livestock and protect them from predators.
Pie Ranch does not move its pastured chickens because moving current poultry fencing is too labor and time intensive

Chickens and coop on pasture at Pie Ranch

High Priority Requirements

System covers one acre/day and manual labor time is no more than 1 hour per day
Each chicken is dedicated 10+ sq feet of fresh pasture at all times
Structure irrigates 1 acres of freshly fertilized land each day
8+ ft tall electrified fence
Fencing is compatible with Pie Ranch topography

Ethical Considerations

Engineering feasibility and the welfare of the chickens, predators, and farmhands
Needs and desires of Pie Ranch

Solution

Our proposed solution for Pie Ranch is a containment unit that encloses a fifth of an acre and moves slowly and continuously to cover an acre of fresh pasture on a daily basis. This entire structure has a length of 70 feet and width of 125 feet, which meets the technical requirement of providing over 10 square feet of space per bird for 600 chickens. This entire area is surrounded by suspended electrified chicken fencing that exceeds the 8-foot-tall height requirement. The 70-foot sides parallel to the direction of movement are rigid, so the structure can be pulled by the LMS. By utilizing a coupling mechanism that allows the LMS to move the entire chicken enclosure on a daily basis, our final design meets our overall project objective.

Containment Unit

Final design that uses rigid and non-rigid components to enclose 0.2 acres and moves continuously throughout the day to cover an acre of fresh pasture on a daily basis