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Imprint
Collaborative project: Automated animal welfare monitoring in poultry. Subproject 1 (AutoWohl)
Project
Project code: 2817903515
Contract period: 19.04.2017
- 18.12.2019
Budget: 207,804 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
The monitoring and evaluation of valid welfare indicators is a precondition for any animal welfare improvement. Welfare indicators may be recorded on farm or at the slaughterhouse in order to describe the situation in a retrospective or in a preventive way and to indicate optimization potential. The aim of this project is to realize standardized measurements of animal welfare indicators in poultry via automated image-based systems. For laying hens, broilers and turkeys new measuring systems will be developed, validated and standardized, as well as already existing systems improved. The project’s goal is to further open up the potentials of automated monitoring with regard to improved standardization, objective assessment and time-efficient data acquisition. By this, it directly contributes to a better assessment and an improvement of animal welfare. Selected indicators of welfare in laying hens, broilers and turkeys are investigated both on farms and at three slaughterhouses. In detail, in laying hens a new system for the camera-based on-farm detection of plumage changes is developed. At slaughter, systems for the detection of keel bone deviations and skin injuries are established. In broilers at slaughter, existing systems for the automated evaluation of pododermatitis and hock burns are validated, standardized and optimized. In turkeys, a camera-based early-warning system for cannibalism is tested on farm; at the slaughterhouse, pododermatitis, breast blisters, breast alterations and skin injuries are considered. In the developmental phase, all indicators measured at slaughter are tested for agreement with scorings at the farm.
Section overview
Subjects
- Agricultural Technology Animal Production
- Animal health
- Special animal species
Funding programme
Excutive institution
Institute for Animal Health, Animal Welfare and Behaviour of Farm Animals (ITTN)
Funding institution
Project management agencies
Associated projects: AutoWohl
- Collaborative project: Automated animal welfare monitoring in poultry. Subproject 2
- Collaborative project: Automated animal welfare monitoring in poultry. Subproject 3
- Collaborative project: Automated animal welfare monitoring in poultry. Subproject 4
- Collaborative project: Automated animal welfare monitoring in poultry. Subproject 5
