Poultry Engineering

Need engineering help for poultry housing? For the last three years, the Biosystems Engineering Department has been operating a world renown Web site on engineering issues in poultry housing. The website, www.poultryhouse.com, was developed by a team of engineers, poultry scientists, and economists led by Professor and Extension Engineer Jim Donald.

The mission of the Web site effort is to provide practical, up-to-date information on design and management of modern poultry environmental control systems and housing, useful to poultry producers, flock supervisors, and industry managers.

Since beginning this educational Web site, over 35,000 hits have been recorded. The Web site makes available in portable document format all pertinent publications on poultry housing and ventilation that have been produced and published by Auburn University faculty working to serve the poultry industry.

In addition, the Web site offers an extensive library of annotated photographs focusing on common poultry housing problems and solutions, a feature that has proven valuable to the industry.

Professor Donald and Extension Economist Gene Simpson are working on a project in North Alabama that could have a major impact on reducing the costs of heating poultry houses. Working with inventors, poultry growers, and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Professors Donald and Simpson have implemented a heating system for broiler houses that utilizes recycled motor oil rather than propane or natural gas.

Preliminary indications are that costs of heating broiler houses might be reduced by as much as 50 to 60%, while improving in-house bird performance. Further testing will be carried out during fiscal year 2004-2005.

With petroleum prices at record high levels, this proves to be a very timely and useful piece of extension and applied research work being conducted by these two faculty members.

With an estimated 13,000 poultry houses in production in Alabama and an average fuel bill of nearly $4,000 annually per house, these efforts have the potential of having a multi-million dollar impact on Alabama's poultry industry and the state's economy.

For more information, visit:

• www.poultryhouse.com
• Biosystems Engineering Department