Automated tracking of broiler breeder activity and functional area use in a commercial housing system: differences between sexes and time of day.

ABSTRACT: Broiler breeders are in the EU traditionally housed in large flocks, yet little information is available regarding the birds' movement patterns in these flocks and their use of functional areas within the house (e.g., nest boxes, litter area). This exploratory study aimed to gain some first insights into individual differences in spatial area use of broiler breeders under commercial conditions, using an ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking system. The broiler breeder house (59 × 14 m; 826 m²) under study housed 5,600 Ross 308 breeder females and 350 Ross 308 breeder males and consisted of two compartments that the birds could not move between, each containing three functional zones: a litter area, an elevated slatted area, and a nest box area. A small subset of birds was fitted with a

SUBMITTER: van der Sluis M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12800487 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature