Document type : Article published in Réussir Volailles
Author: Pauline Créach
Preview: Itavi is paving the way for the future of animal husbandry with an image analysis system that will monitor the welfare of chickens throughout their lives.
Itavi and INRAE's EBroiler Track project hopes to be able to carry out Ebene assessments of chicken welfare automatically using continuous image analysis. This idea fulfils two needs, enabling on-farm monitoring that ensures that early action can be taken, and reassuring consumers on how animals are reared.
The system is based on the detection and tracking of all animals within a camera's the field of vision. To date, the prototype has produced good results, allowing 98% of chickens (housed at twenty per square metre) to be detected and tracked up until the end of the rearing period.
Individual tracking analysed in real time
The activity of each chicken is recorded, detailing density-levels by zone, speed of movement, distance covered and activity durations. From this data, welfare indicators are calculated for the group throughout the rearing period. The indicators are derived from the Ebene grid forming part of the Itavi welfare assessment method that is the reference in the field. At the end of a batch's rearing, an aggregate indicator, which has yet to be built, will allow the level of welfare of the batch to be assessed.
For now, the system is in prototype form. The next step for Itavi and Inrae will be to collect further data so that episodes of poor welfare can be identified at an early stage, enabling the farmer to intervene quickly and implement solutions during the rearing period such as provision of enrichment materials to encourage the expression of behaviours. A drop in feeder attendance can be identified, for example, which is particularly useful during feed transitions. The EBroilerTrack device has been entered in the Itainnov innovation competition, the winners of which will be announced at the 2022 French Agricultural Salon.
What does EBroilerTrack do?:
- identifies the smallest animals;
- records numbers of iother small companion animalstive animals over a given period of time;
- continuously calculates the available space around each animal;
- accurately tracks the use of feeder, pipette and enrichment areas (number and duration of visits);
- and calculates the overall activity of the batch.
