Vocalisation sound pattern identification in young broiler chickens

I. Fontana, E. Tullo*, A. Scrase, A. Butterworth

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, we describe the monitoring of young broiler chicken vocalisation, with sound recorded and assessed at regular intervals throughout the life of the birds from day 1 to day 38, with a focus on the first week of life. We assess whether there are recognisable, and even predictable, vocalisation patterns based on frequency and sound spectrum analysis, which can be observed in birds at different ages and stages of growth within the relatively short life of the birds in commercial broiler production cycles. The experimental trials were carried out in a farm where the broiler where reared indoor, and audio recording procedures carried out over 38 days. The recordings were made using two microphones connected to a digital recorder, and the sonic data was collected in situations without disturbance of the animals beyond that created by the routine activities of the farmer. Digital files of 1 h duration were cut into short files of 10 min duration, and these sound recordings were analysed and labelled using audio analysis software. Analysis of these short sound files showed that the key vocalisation frequency and patterns changed in relation to increasing age and the weight of the broilers. Statistical analysis showed a significant correlation (P

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1567-1574
Number of pages8
Journalanimal
Volume10
Issue number9
Early online date31 Jul 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2016

Keywords

  • acoustic parameters
  • audio labelling
  • broiler chicken
  • spectrogram
  • welfare assessment

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