Setting the stage to tag “n” track: a guideline for implementing, validating and reporting a radio frequency identification system for monitoring resource visit behavior in poultry

Alindekon, Serge; Rodenburg, T. Bas; Langbein, Jan; Puppe, Birger; Wilmsmeier, Olaf; Louton, Helen

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2023.102799

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Due to the small body sizes of the animals and their natural use of three-dimensional structures, tracking individual chickens in farm settings is challenging. Only a few studies in this area have been successful, such as those using pedometers [ 30 ] and RFID techniques [ 31 ]. For measuring GLA, Kjaer [ 20 ] designed an experimental setup using passive RFID tags on their animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory Study on Individual Locomotor Activity in Local Dual-Purpose and Commercial Breeder Pullets

Schürmann,

Becker,

Krause

et al. 2023

Animals

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Improving animal welfare is a prerequisite for the societal acceptance of poultry production. Support for improvements requires practical tools to quantify animal welfare and identify predispositions at the individual level, where possible. In this study, the activities and behavior of dual-purpose chickens (N = 245) and commercial breeders (N = 224) were analyzed. The general locomotor activity (GLA) data were collected using an RFID system over five days with 9-to-14-week-old animals. The results show that the animals of comparable age and stocking density differed from each other in their activity (p ≤ 0.001) according to breed, but no sex differences were observed (p = 0.159). No correlations were found between GLA and plumage condition (p > 0.05). The individual variations within the breeds are presented and discussed on an animal-by-animal level, providing new insights into the individual behavioral variability of chickens. The RFID systems can reliably generate GLA data that help to understand the potential interplay between behavior and animal welfare. The technology is also suitable for creating individual (personality) profiles that can be used for breeding. With a better understanding of the role of activity, husbandry and management practices can be adapted to improve animal welfare.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%