Automated singulating system for transfer of live broilers

This paper addresses the problems of automating the process of transferring live broilers (meat chickens) from a conveyor to a moving shackle line. Specifically, we focus on establishing the criteria for designing for an automated system for singulating and orienting the birds for subsequent transferring to a moving shackle line. Since both the mechanical forces and the bird's natural reflexes contribute to the overall dynamics as the bird passes through the singulator, an experimental prototype singulator has been developed to facilitate the study of bird's natural reflexes to mechanical singulation. The system has been experimentally demonstrated and evaluated with live birds at the Gold Kist research farm and at a poultry-processing plant in Georgia. It is expected that the results will provide significant insights to the design and control of future mechanical singulators