Work

The benefits of smart farming: broiler chicken welfare is indicated earlier and more accurately with automated measurements of flock behaviour

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Smart farming technology has the potential to increase both efficiency and animal welfare. Despite these advantages, many livestock farmers are still reluctant to invest, citing uncertainty over return on investment. Demonstrating real benefits in practice is therefore essential for the new technologies to be widely adopted. This study aimed to determine whether smart camera technology can provide sufficient extra information about broiler chicken welfare to justify the extra investment involved. The study was carried out on farms on two continents with an emphasis on the welfare of very young chicks and to demonstrate the value of smart camera technology. Three outcome measures of broiler chicken health and welfare - mortality, hockburn and foot pad dermatitis – were predicted together with the key productivity measure of Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), both with and without information from the smart camera system (OpticFlock). The first analysis used standard data widely collected on commercial broiler farms – water use, body weight and feed:water ratio plus information from the smart camera system. The second analysis used the same data but left out all camera data. The third analysis used camera information alone. The results showed that the combination of smart camera data and standard measures of water use, feed:water ratio and weight gave earlier and more accurate prediction than either alone. The results show that a smart system can aid the detection and prediction of welfare problems, enabling farmers to proactively implement corrective measures and assess welfare throughout life.

Source: Smart Agricultural Technology

DOI: 10.1016/j.atech.2025.101500

Authors: Marian Stamp Dawkins, Stephen Ellwood, Stephen Roberts, Katherine Barger Weathers, Christl A. Donnelly

Institution: University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies

Subfield: Small Animals

Field: Veterinary

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,770