Design, Development, and Field Validation of a Low-Cost Gsm-Based Early Warning System for Environmental Stress and Disease Detection in Small-Scale Broiler Production Systems in Nigeria: Case study of Minna Municipal, Niger state

High mortality rates caused by environmental stress and infectious diseases remain a major constraint to small-scale broiler production in sub-Saharan Africa. This study presents the design, development, and field validation of a low-cost Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)-based early warning system for real-time monitoring of environmental and biological indicators in poultry housing systems. The system integrates temperature, relative humidity, and a novel infrared-based faecal consistency sensor with a microcontroller and GSM module to deliver automated short message service (SMS) alerts when critical thresholds are exceeded. Field validation was conducted over an eight-week production cycle across three small-scale broiler farms in Niger State, Nigeria. System performance was evaluated in terms of sensor accuracy, communication reliability, response latency, and impact on flock health outcomes. Results indicate a GSM alert success rate of 96%, with sensor measurement errors within acceptable engineering tolerances (±0.4°C for temperature and ±1.8% for relative humidity). The system enabled early detection of environmental stress events and disease onset, contributing to a statistically significant reduction (p