MANAGING PASTURE ROTATION IN A SMALL FLOCK FREE RANGE EGG-TYPE BREED USING DRONE TECHNOLOGY

<b>Project Methods</b><br> MethodsParticipant farms and farm operation type: There will be six participant farms (small-scale), two farms in each region (Eastern, Central, and Western) of TN. One farm will be a single operation while the other farm will be a diversified operation for each region. Each farm will consist of at least 0.5 acre of green pasture for birds to forage for experimental use.These two types of farm operations (single and diversified) will also be studied at the research farm at Tennessee State University (TSU).Participant farms will be selected based on participant farmer's perceived interest in doing small flock pasture poultry operation. Participant farms will be selected from farmers participating in Small Farm Expo or New Farmer Academy, both are successful agricultural outreach programs at TSU, as well as through county agent input. The participant farms will be chosen so that at least 50% of them are minority farmers.Bird use and rearing husbandry (0-21 weeks): An egg type breed (leg horns) will be utilized. 800 female chicks will be obtained from a NPIP certified hatchery and will be distributed to participant farms (100 chicks/farm). The remaining two hundred chicks will be reared at TSU research farm. Participant farms will rear chicks under a husbandry plan as devised by Dr. Maharjan to fulfill maintenance and growth need of birds at rearing phase (0-21 weeks). Pasture preparation (legumes and mixed forages) will be suggested timely to be ready for producing hens during production phase (22-46 weeks) (Zheng et al., 2021; Ponte et al., 2008a). Out of 100 chicks initially provided, only 60 egg laying hens will participate in the study for each farm.Trainings will be given to the participant farmers on husbandry practices and drone use basics (Workshops 1). The 2-day workshops will target six farmers of participant farms. These workshops will meet in the central region of TN on two different dates.Pasture rotation for birds at production phase and drone usage (22 to 46 wk.):A total of 0.5 acre or 21,780 ft2 will be used as foraging/pasture area in the study by each participant farm. The pasture will be virtually divided into 9 foraging areas. Each secured area (2420 ft2) will be a potential area of pasture rotation for hens. Sixty hens (~40 ft2/bird) will forage for a 7-day period before it is moved to next area.The production phase is the experimental period of this project. Every seven days the foraging area will be changed. For the first 4 weeks, the pasture rotation will be based on the conventional pattern as decided by the participant farmer without drone use. For the following four weeks, the pasture rotation will be done with the aid of drone image data. Each participant farmer will use the drone to capture images and engage in other activities as described below. There will be a total of three sets of repetitions of 'no drone use' versus 'drone use' on pasture rotation practices for each farm (Table 2) during the 24-week study period.Table 2: Treatment tableFarm operation typeDrone use pattern (YES or NO) during production phase (22 wks.-46 wks.)23-26 wk.27-30 wk.31-34 wk.35-38 wk.39-42 wk.43- 46 wk.Single/DiversifiedNOYESNOYESNOYESNO= Treatment(T)1 and YES=T2Drone, drone usage, and data collection and analysisThe DJI Mini 2 drone (DJI, California, USA) will be used. It is a cost -efficient drone for small farmers, easy to fly, and can be used for basic monitoring. The drone will be flown twice daily to monitor the flock when the birds are foraging- once in the mid-morning (9 am-11 am) another around dusk (one hour before sunset) before the birds will return to mobile housing. A drone will be flown at a specific height from the ground, (the relative altitude that hens may become acclimated to drone noise within a short period of time based on our preliminary work). The following information will be obtained for AM and PM drone flights from a 10-minute fly duration:Bird orientation in the foraging plot: Hurdled (<10 % area coverage of foraging patch versus scattered foraging (> 50% area coverage of foraging plot)Status of feed and water (mark as good or need supplement)Suspected morbid bird (less mobility in hens)Mortality (if any)Green forage coverage % in the pasture area (%)Corrective actions will be taken if the drone image identifies any abnormalities with flock status. The day before the pasture rotation (7th day of drone use), nine images will be captured, one for each foraging patch.Pasture rotation: The best foraging area of 2,920 ft2 within the whole pasture area will be decided and traced out based on the image analysis using Canopeo software (de Koff, 2020). The participant farmer will then rotate the flock to the identified patch area post 7-day grazing period.On each 7th day, an additional external fence monitoring of the whole farm will be conducted. The drone usage in this case varies depending on the perimeter of the yard each participant will have.Following data will be taken:Performance data: The following performance data during the production phase (22-46 wks.) will be obtained for each participant farm and the farm trial conducted at the TSU research facility:Feed efficiency (gram feed consumption to gram egg production)Egg quality characteristics (Vitamin A, E, fat profile including-Omega-3, Omega-6) (Ponte et al., 2008b; Folch et al., 1957). Pooled sample of 12 eggs from T1 and T2 from each farm (n=6 pooled replicates/each treatment) will be obtained for egg quality characteristic study. Mortality (%)Predation rate (%)Labor efficiency: Each participant farmer will be asked to log the time (in hours) spent on husbandry practices. Labor efficiency will be calculated as follows:Average time spent on farm per day ( 'drone use' period) / Average time spent on farm per day ('no drone use' period) * 100Farm economics: Cost associated with production inputs and performance outputs will be measured for the study period (22-46 wks.). Cost involved (22 wks-46 wks.) in daily husbandry practices such as feed, labor hours, utilities including drone and drone use cost, and farm income for the value of eggs and meat produced will be calculated.Dissemination plan:Research results will be disseminated via training workshops on small flock management for pastured poultry and discuss the potential use of drones in management practices. There will be a total of three workshops, one in each region of TN- Eastern, Central, and Western region. There will be 20 participants per workshop. The target audience will constitute five extension agents, and 15 backyard and small flock producers. Opportunities to participate in the workshop will be given to limited resource farmers based on nomination from county agents in the state. Accommodations and meals will be provided as necessary to motivate participationFactsheets, training videos, and journal publications: Factsheets (4 total) will be developed on the each of the topics covered in the training workshops. A training video will be produced on on-farm demonstration of using drones in small flock poultry management. The fact sheets and video will be published on the TSU extension publication website. Onejournal article will be published compiling the research results on performance benefits of using drone technology on pasture rotation in free range small flock pastured poultry management. The article will be published in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research.