Partners advance animal welfare with real-time data and sound analysis
FAI Farms and project partners The Lakes Free Range Egg Company, Newcastle University and Agri-Tech Centre UK have received Innovate funding for Flockwise, a 3-year project to further enhance the award-winning BirdBox technology.
This will take health and welfare management in cage-free laying hens to a new level bringing better efficiency and productivity gains to farmers.
Over the past 20 years, FAI Farms has been using science and technology to deliver practical tools that drive better on-farm results and improve sustainability within farmed animal supply chain.
BirdBox was developed by the Lake Free Range Egg Company’s David Brass, their farmers and FAI. It integrates data collection and reporting from farm to the packing centre. Using on-farm software and in-house sensors, it has been shown to deliver better bird health and welfare and enhanced productivity. Intuitive dashboards provide egg packers with oversight of performance across their farm supply for optimised operations.
An increase in egg production
Producers on average have seen a production increase of 3.5% in eggs per hen housed and mortality reduction of 1.8% following the installation bringing returns on investment within 1 flock for an average 16,000 bird house.
The Flockwise project (Facilitating Learning Opportunities, Cultivating Knowledge and Welfare through Integrated Sensing and Expertise) is being developed further through integrating novel sensors to detect additional health, welfare and productivity indicators and use artificial intelligence to provide guided insights, informed by real-time industry data, to farmers and the wider supply chain.
FAI Farms said Flockwise was looking to help address some of the key health and welfare challenges in laying hen flocks, such as piling and smothering, pecking and respiratory diseases. Flockwise will use bird vocalisations and egg quality indicators to monitor flock health and welfare status in real-time.
Calls made by hens are signals
Like other animals, birds sound different when stressed or unwell; it’s often how farmers and experienced stock-people first detect a problem. By using novel sound technology, Flockwise will link the calls being made by hens to key health and welfare concerns, enhancing the listening skills and experience of those looking after the birds – and enabling the flocks to be monitored even when farmers are not in the house.
As well as identifying the sounds made when the birds are facing a health or welfare challenge, the technology aims to detect nuanced changes in sound when birds are at increased risk, so farmers are alerted sooner and can prevent a problem arising.
A similar approach will be used for egg quality. When birds are under stress, egg quality declines. Using information collected when eggs are graded at the factory, BirdBox will monitor the health and resiliency of the flock, signalling to producers when challenges may be arising that can impact the health and productivity of the flock.
Potential to reduce egg prices?
Professor Lucy Asher, professor of Behaviour Informatics at Newcastle University, said: “Flockwise provides a unique opportunity to collaborate closely with the laying hen industry to drive advancements in animal welfare and sustainability within the sector.”
Carly Scott, director and project lead at FAI Farms added: “With BirdBox, we already see the benefit of monitoring the environment and management of the flock. This development enables farmers to better understand the health and welfare of their birds, not only detecting, but preventing problems while supporting increased productivity.”
David Brass, Chief Executive at the Lakes Free Range Egg Co Ltd, said: “This piece of leading-edge innovative research has the potential to change egg-producing poultry welfare and production beyond recognition and into a new exciting era. It is the culmination of 14 years work with FAI on the BirdBox system, finally realising the results we always envisaged.”
Defra said it hoped the 3-year trial would improve animal welfare and eventually reduce egg prices for British shoppers. “The technology will help hens live longer and healthier lives and is good for the environment too, because longer lived fowl have a smaller carbon footprint.”
If rolled out nationwide, Defra hopes the project would make up for up to 1.7 billion eggs laid a year and a £280 million increase to UK farmers’ incomes.
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