Drones in Poultry Farming: Applications, Benefits, and Outlook
The growing demand for poultry meat and eggs is driving the adoption of advanced technologies on farms. Global poultry production is estimated to increase by about 120% between 2010 and 2050.
ANIMAL PRODUCTION
9/29/20256 min read
The growing demand for poultry meat and eggs is driving the adoption of advanced technologies on farms. Global poultry production is estimated to increase by about 120% between 2010 and 2050 (1). To meet this growth, producers are turning to digital solutions (IoT, sensors, AI), including drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs). These aerial platforms provide real-time data and can automate key tasks in poultry production, enhancing both efficiency and sustainability.
Current Applications of Drones in Poultry Farming
Flock and Structure Monitoring: Drones equipped with thermal and RGB cameras fly over poultry houses or free-range areas to check the health and behavior of the birds, detect dead or distressed birds, and examine infrastructure (roofs, ventilation fans, etc.) for damage (2, 3). One study showed that flying drones weekly in a commercial broiler house did not negatively affect production indicators (mortality, feed conversion) compared to traditional farms (4).
Feed and Water Dispensing: Some operations use drones to transport and drop feed or water at specific points inside the house or across extensive pasture areas, improving distribution and reducing manual labor (5). For instance, Rembrandt Enterprises uses drones to distribute feed and water to their birds (6), saving staff time.
Bird Counting: Using computer vision, drones can estimate the inventory of chickens and turkeys. Cal-Maine Foods, a leader in hen eggs, employs drones to count its flock and maintain precise inventories (7).
Biosecurity and Perimeter Security: Drones flying over farms monitor the perimeter for intruders (predators, pests like rodents, or unauthorized access), reinforcing biosecurity. They can also inspect manure and effluent management systems to ensure environmental compliance (8, 9).
Spraying and Disinfection: Adapting agricultural drones, spraying systems for disinfectants or aerial vaccination are being tested inside very large poultry houses, eliminating pathogens and reducing outbreaks. This application is rapidly advancing: for example, drones are already used to spray crops, and their use in house sanitization is being explored (10).
Environmental Monitoring: Some drones capture air or water samples inside and outside the house to evaluate quality parameters (ammonia, CO₂, humidity) (11). This helps identify suboptimal conditions (heat, bad odors) and initiate climate or ventilation corrections.
Egg Collection: Although not common today, research is underway for drones capable of extracting eggs from nests or conveyor belts, reducing breakage and manual labor (12).
Technical Advantages
Integrating drones with advanced sensors opens new possibilities for precision. Equipped with multispectral and hyperspectral cameras, drones generate high-resolution orthomosaics to detect water stress or nutritional deficiencies in crops (13). Similarly, in poultry farming, drones with thermal and infrared cameras are incorporated to remotely assess the birds' body temperature and the internal climate of the houses during flight, improving the early detection of health issues.
Furthermore, connecting these drones with fixed IoT sensors (temperature, humidity, ammonia, water/feed consumption) allows for continuous monitoring. For example, IoT sensors in poultry houses automatically record critical variables and send alerts when they fall outside the normal range (14). Collectively, this increases the precision and automation of supervision: drones provide real-time aerial vision, while ground sensors ensure constant control over environmental and feeding conditions.
Aerial platforms significantly reduce manual effort: they can quickly scan large farm areas and process data with AI, without the need to physically walk through every house. It's estimated that using drones for surveillance decreases manual labor by up to 45% (15), freeing up personnel for higher-value tasks. Additionally, embedded algorithms analyze video during flight to detect abnormal patterns (immobile birds, clusters), leading to faster and more precise diagnostics than traditional inspections. In summary, drones add automation and accuracy: they perform scheduled regular inspections, integrate data from multiple sensors (video, thermal, IoT), and feed zootechnical management systems with continuous, reliable information.
Economic Benefits
Technical improvement translates into clear economic benefits for producers. By automating routine monitoring and feeding tasks, drones reduce labor costs and human errors (15). In turn, these platforms are projected to increase operational efficiency by 20% to 40% (16, 17). This results in an attractive Return on Investment (ROI): by optimizing the use of feed, water, and energy, operational cost reduction is estimated to be close to 20–30% (18, 19). Additionally, the early detection of diseases by drones (e.g., thermal monitoring to identify febrile birds) could decrease flock mortality by around 30–40% (20), preventing massive losses.
Collectively, these savings improve the farm's economic productivity. For example, by increasing the efficiency of feeding and egg collection using drones, some estimates project increases in feed conversion and laying rates of up to 20–30% (17). With figures of this magnitude, many producers would recover their drone investment within a few years, especially in medium-to-large-scale operations. In practice, large poultry companies already report significant savings: data-driven optimization and automation have already demonstrated substantial improvements in profitability per hectare in crop farming (18, 19), a trend that is transferring to the poultry sector based on the same principles of precision.
Use Cases and Practical Examples
Several industry leaders are already applying drones with measurable results:
Perdue Farms (US) uses drones to inspect structural damage and pests in their houses (21).
Cal-Maine Foods (US) employs drones to maintain an accurate count of their birds (7).
Rembrandt Enterprises (US) implements them to dispense feed and water to chickens (6).
Maple Leaf Foods (Canada) uses them for sanitary monitoring of their flocks (22).
In Mexico, Bachoco applies drones to map pasture areas and better plan their operations (23).
Even egg producer associations (Egg Farmers of Canada) use them to detect environmental hazards on farms (24).
These cases demonstrate that drones provide real value: they help identify and repair problems before they cause losses and manage more efficient work routes. For example, by flying over a bird lot, a drone can immediately alert if it detects a group separated from the main flock (possibly sick) or sudden temperature changes. The collected information is then integrated into management systems (ERP or digital farm platforms) to take immediate actions (adjust ventilation, isolate houses, etc.). Producers who have adopted this technology highlight labor savings and biosecurity improvements as key benefits of its implementation.
Challenges and Limitations
Despite the advantages, widespread adoption still faces several obstacles. The initial cost of a professional drone (hardware, sensors) and its maintenance can be high for small producers (25). Furthermore, operating drones requires specialized technical training to plan safe flights and analyze the complex data they generate. There are also regulatory barriers: in many countries, flight restrictions exist (altitude, restricted zones, pilot license) that limit their use on extensive farms (25).
Another challenge is the interaction with birds. Studies (Alltech) warn that flying drones inside a house can stress birds, making their use more suitable in free-range chicken or turkey systems (3). The drone's vibrations and noise can cause agitation, so research is focused on reducing impacts (less noise, flying at greater height). Technically, drones have limited battery life, restricting continuous flight time in very large houses; this necessitates planning efficient missions or in situ charging solutions. Finally, integrating the data into existing management platforms is complex: many systems are not interoperable, which can hinder the rapid interpretation of the large amount of collected data (25).
Future Perspectives and Emerging Innovations
The trend suggests that drones will become increasingly autonomous and intelligent. The development of drone swarms that collaborate using AI to conduct 24/7 patrols, reacting to events in real-time, is anticipated. For example, research is underway on onboard biosensors capable of detecting viral pathogens (such as avian influenza) in the air almost instantly (26). This data would feed into predictive AI algorithms that anticipate outbreaks before they clinically manifest, triggering automatic preventive measures (like isolating houses or initiating vaccine spraying).
In the long term, "smart farms" will combine drones with ground robots: drones that map and supervise the general status, and robots that intervene physically (e.g., applying medication, collecting droppings, or sanitarily inspecting birds). Work is also being done on sustainable technologies for poultry waste management: smart sensors and bioreactors to recover nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen) from the bedding and capture atmospheric ammonia (27). Artificial intelligence will continue to improve artificial vision systems: cameras capable of recognizing bird behavior patterns will serve to dynamically optimize feeding, lighting, and ventilation (28). Overall, the trajectory suggests that drones and related technologies will increasingly integrate into poultry management, contributing to safer, more efficient, and more productive operations.
Sources: Recent academic and technical studies show concrete applications of drones on poultry farms (2, 4), industry reports document improvements in efficiency and ROI (16, 18), and sector publications discuss practical cases and emerging trends (3, 21). All data cited here comes from specialized sources updated through 2025.
(1, 3) Los productores deben cultivar datos y aprovechar las nuevas tecnologías digitales para mejorar la eficiencia en la producción avícola | Alltech
(2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 21, 22, 23, 24) RFID, BLE, IoT & Drones for Poultry and Egg Production Industry - GAO RFID
https://gaorfid.com/rfid-ble-iot-drones-for-poultry-and-egg-production-industry/
(4) Applied Research Note: Operation of drones and autonomous vehicles in confined housing to assist in house management – DOAJ
https://doaj.org/article/a2fab080cb494d9892f56b0b290bc150
(10, 13,18,25) El futuro de la agricultura ya está aquí. Cómo los drones están revolucionando la producción de alimentos.
(14) Avicultura 4.0 - CONAVE
https://conave.org/avicultura-4-0/
(15, 16, 17, 20) Drones and the Future of Poultry Production
https://3laws.io/pages/Drones_and_the_Future_of_Poultry_Production.html
(19) Transformando la agricultura con Big data y Inteligencia artificial | Engormix
(26, 27, 28) Inteligencia artificial, sensores, robots y los sistemas de transporte impulsan un futuro innovador para la gestión de pollos de engorde y reproductoras – Plumazos
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