“Feed the poultry in quotidian routine to condition them - sensory preconditioning - to improve egg production and hatching process.
I was keeping quails, chickens, and ducks in my garden before I moved, but it was struggling to manage to feed them in quotidian routine - day-to-day - to accustom them to a new egg production schedule. Also, I was trying to apply sensory preconditioning - repeated simultaneous presentations of two neutral stimuli (sound and light) - while feeding them to improve egg production rate, and it is mandatory to warn the poultry with light and sound while practicing sensory preconditioning. Hence, I had developed a bird feeder with the Arduino Nano as a budget-friendly solution to the problems I had encountered. In this project, I will discuss an enhanced version of my previous bird feeder for those who need a cheap device to practice sensory preconditioning with the poultry.
To obtain current time, date, and temperature, I used a DS3231 RTC module.
To create an interface to display the mentioned variables, check the device status, set the feeding time, and monitor the remaining time to the feeding time, I used a 20x4 LCD Screen and pushbuttons.
As the feeding mechanism with the container, I used a Pringles can attached to a mini pan-tilt kit with two servo motors (SG90).
Most importantly and not surprisingly, to apply sensory preconditioning, I added a buzzer and a 5mm green LED to the device, activated in the feeding time.
After completing my design on a breadboard and testing the code, I designed a PCB (RTC Bird Feeder V2.0) with a unique chicken shape to create a felicitous and easy-to-use accessory to any chicken coop.”