Individual Monitoring of Activity and Lameness in Conventional and Slower-Growing Breeds of Broiler Chickens Using Accelerometers.

ABSTRACT: Accelerometers are increasingly being investigated to detect animal behavior as a method for monitoring individual welfare that overcomes manual challenges associated with time, resource, and discrete sampling. We investigated the effects of broiler chicken hybrid (hereafter breed) and weight on accelerometer activity (activityA; calculated as percentage of time spent active (%)) and its association with lameness as a major broiler welfare concern. Accelerometers were attached to birds of different breeds on between 2 and 4 occasions from 26 to 30 days old (conventional breed CNV) and 26 to 49 days old (two slower-growing breeds SGH; SGN). At 2.2 kg, lameness was scored using a 6-point gait scoring system (0: unaffected to 5: severely lame). Linear mixed effects models and breed-stratified

SUBMITTER: Pearce J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10177109 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature