Category: Poultry

In modern poultry production, thousands of chickens are raised in a confined housing system, which tends to have animal disease or well-being issues.  Early disease detection is essential to limit spread and economic loss. Poultry diseases threaten animal welfare and productivity, especially in cage-free systems where communal environments increase disease transmission risks. Traditional diagnostic methods, […]
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Foraging is considered one of the most important natural habits in chickens, as they spend a significant portion of their time doing it (Figure 1). US egg production is shifting from conventional caged system to cage-free production considering the hens will have more freedoms in performing natural behaviors such as dustbathing and foraging.  Foraging behavior […]
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Roosters’ behavior and activity are critical for egg fertility and hatchability in broiler or layer breeder houses. Desirable roosters are expected to have a good leg health, reach sexual maturity, be productive, and show less aggression to females during mating. However, not all roosters are desirable and low productive roosters should be removed for replacement. […]
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The U.S. Precision Livestock Farming conference committee announced on the last day of the 3rd U.S. Precision Livestock Farming Conference (Lincoln, NE; June 2-5, 2025) that the 4th U.S. Precision Livestock Farming Conference will be held at the University of Georgia, Athens, USA on May 24-27, 2027. The U.S. Precision Livestock Farming (USPLF) conference (held […]
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Poultry behaviors such as drinking and feeding are critical for evaluating animal welfare and health. In commercial poultry houses, there are thousands of chickens in a flock, which makes monitoring individual behavior such as drinking and feeding challenging. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted agriculture, particularly with the development of deep learning […]
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UGA poultry science & extension team just held a successful 2025 Georgia Precision Poultry Farming Conference virtually on May 6, 2025. Ten invited speakers and five panelists shared the latest research, education, and industry implementation/need of precision poultry farming technologies. This year’s conference had about 350 registrations from 30+ countries. The event received grateful support from […]
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Defective eggs (eggs with abnormal exterior quality and size, Figure 1) can reduce the egg quality/food safety and market value of laying hen production, especially in cage-free houses where floor eggs are more common. To improve egg quality, automated grading and defect detection systems have been developed using machine vision and image processing. Automated egg […]
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It’s estimated that approximately 20 million chickens in the U.S. die in commercial poultry houses before reaching market age or arriving at slaughterhouses for various reasons. In commercial broiler or cage-free laying hen houses, thousands of chickens are housed within the same facility in high density. Animal wellbeing monitoring, including daily mortality checks, is typically […]
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Domestic fowl shows the tendon-locking phenomenon, which lets them to express perching behavior (PB) with minimum muscular effort. The domestic hens look for an elevated structure for resting during night as that the jungle fowl, in order to prevent themselves from ground predators. Providing perches in cage-free (CF) housing (Figure 1) offers significant benefits for […]
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