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 […]
Read More
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. […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) is disastrous for poultry industries worldwide. The outbreak of HPAI in 2014-2015 caused the loss of 60 million chickens and turkey, and the most recent HPAI outbreak since 2021 has led to losses of over 100 million chickens so far in the US. Farm biosecurity management practices have been applied […]
Read More
