Moving GIS Research Indoors: Spatiotemporal Analysis of Agricultural Animals

Abstract

A proof of concept applying wildlife ecology techniques to animal welfare science in intensive agricultural environments was conducted using non-cage laying hens. Studies of wildlife ecology regularly use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess wild animal movement and behavior within environments with relatively unlimited space and finite resources. However, rather than depicting landscapes, a GIS could be developed in animal production environments to provide insight into animal behavior as an indicator of animal welfare. We developed a GIS-based approach for studying agricultural animal behavior in an environment with finite space and unlimited resources. Concurrent data from wireless body-worn location tracking sensor and video-recording systems, which depicted spatially-explicit behavior of hens (135 hens/room) in two identical indoor enclosures, were collected. The spatial configuration of specific hen behaviors, variation in home range patterns, and variation in home range overlap show that individual hens respond to the same environment differently. Such information could catalyze management practice adjustments (e.g., modifying feeder design and/or location). Genetically-similar hens exhibited diverse behavioral and spatial patterns via a proof of concept approach enabling detailed examinations of individual non-cage laying hen behavior and welfare.

Technology and Poultry Welfare

“…Spatial requirements for basic behaviours and use of space in laying hens have been addressed using kinematic analysis [86] and geographic information systems sensors [53]. These studies, undertaken at the experimental level, aimed to better understand hens’ behaviour and use of space in order to adjust building design and to enrich hens’ environment according to scientific knowledge.…”

“…A combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) with wireless sensor attached to the birds’ body (Mica2 Dot radio mobile) was used by Daigle et al [53] to study in detail the relationship between movement and behaviour in laying hens. A series of nodes installed through the hens’ environment (Mica2 Dot stationary radio nodes) acted as beacons for the detection of the sensors, and a base station collected the data from the stationary nodes.…”

“…The data were used to map the spatial configuration of hens’ home range distribution to finally investigate their association with welfare indicators such as health status, expression of natural behaviours, and their emotional state. The results obtained by Daigle et al [53] showed large inter-individual variability in time spent performing specific behaviours, home range size, and home range overlap with conspecifics. According to the authors, this variability could explain individual hen’s condition, and could be indicative of illness, injury, or changes in social dynamics.…”

“…According to the authors, this variability could explain individual hen’s condition, and could be indicative of illness, injury, or changes in social dynamics. On the basis of these results, Daigle et al [53] suggested that a better understanding of confined animals’ behaviour and space use, by using GIS technology, may help to advance in-housing design and management practices to improve the welfare of laying hens. However, the implementation of such a technology on the commercial scale would not be cost effective as the authors were actually interested in studying the behaviour of individual non-caged hens.…”

“…Banerjee et al [54] used a 3-axis ADL335 accelerometer (Analog Devices, Norwood, MA, USA) placed in laying hens and similar communication equipment to the one used by Daigle et al [53] to calculate landing forces, height of the jumps, and the initiation and landing times when jumping from perches at variable heights to a lower landing surface in an experimental set up. The accelerometers continuously collected the acceleration data in three axes as birds jumped.…”