I would imagine a moving barrier, the width of the shed. Along its length are a series of gates, with funnelling type walls/fences that 'encourage ' the chickens through the access ways as the barrier moves slowly along the length of the shed. As each chicken passes through the barrier big enough for only one bird a optical sensor establishes that 1 bird is present and a rapid, multiple sample weighing is performed on the floor plate of this access way. The sample weights (say several hundred) for each bird are averaged to minimize errors and the weight recorded, to be averaged as the total bird count is completed. Oh yes... the birds are counted too of course. This should work. The birds should get used to the routine of this wall moving slowly from one end of the shed to another once a day. _____________________________ Lance Allen Technical Officer Uni of Auckland Psych Dept New Zealand www.psych.auckland.ac.nz _____________________________