Thierno Madiou Diallo
Project Lead
Malaysia's poultry industry supports millions of smallholder farmers, yet a staggering proportion of flocks die from causes that are entirely preventable. The root cause isn't bad farming — it's a lack of timely information.
The real cost of manual monitoring
When a farmer checks the coop once in the morning and once at night, there are up to 12 hours where temperature spikes, feed shortages, or sick birds can go undetected. By the time a problem is visible, it has already spread. Research shows that 15–25% of flock mortality in Malaysian smallholder farms is directly attributable to late disease detection — not the disease itself.
What IoT sensors actually measure
Temperature and humidity are the two most predictive environmental variables for disease outbreak. When the temperature inside a coop rises above 35°C for more than two hours, respiratory stress in broiler chickens increases sharply. DHT22 sensors log these readings every 30 seconds — generating a continuous record that no manual check can replicate. CO₂ levels are equally important: poor ventilation is a leading cause of respiratory disease that is almost entirely invisible without sensors.
Feed and water: the silent cost
Ultrasonic sensors that measure feed and water levels prevent a different kind of loss — one that doesn't show up as a dead bird, but as a bird that grows 15% slower than it should. Feed shortages of even 4–6 hours during the first two weeks of a broiler's life have measurable impact on final weight. Automated monitoring closes this gap entirely.
From data to decision
The value of sensor data is not the data itself — it's the alert it triggers. A reading that says temperature is 37°C is only useful if it reaches the farmer in time to act. That's why Poultrix routes alerts through SMS and WhatsApp: the communication channels that rural farmers in Malaysia already use, on the devices they already have.
The technology to prevent these losses has existed for years. What changed is the cost. Poultrix is built to make this protection accessible to every farmer — not just the large commercial operations that can afford RM10,000+ systems.
Want to see Poultrix in action?
Get in touch with the team for a demo or technical walkthrough.
