FlockVision
Willem Dekkers1, Jessica Hirsch-van Stek1, Ilse Wiggers-Wassink1
1Royal GD, Deventer, the Netherlands
FlockVision helps you to detect behavioural changes at an early stage, allowing you to quickly intervene in case of potential health issues. Six behaviours are measured through camera footage: eating, drinking, foraging, grooming, walking, and resting. This not only provides more insight into animal health and welfare, but also contributes to greater peace of mind and more efficient farm management.
How does FlockVision work?
FlockVision is an intelligent AI algorithm developed by the poultry specialists at Royal GD. Using cameras in the barn, FlockVision can detect the behaviours of broilers. The collected data is presented in the FlockVision app, which is available for both Android and iOS. The smart FlockVision AI will only detect poultry and not people. After detection, the algorithm analyzes short videos to provide insights about the behaviour in the barn. The app displays this data and offers the capability to observe trends between different flocks.
This technology provides poultry farmers with valuable insights into the behaviour and health of their animals, enabling them to make better-informed decisions to improve the welfare of their poultry and increase the efficiency of their operations.
How was FlockVision developed?
FlockVision was first developed in Royal GD’s own stables and later tested in 22 stables in the Netherlands with different settings. Our specialists have labelled over more than 50.000 images to obtain good results. After labelling, we continuously retrained the AI model with the different settings and different broilers. The farmers were involved throughout this development.
Introducing FlockVision into the animal facility
FlockVision represents a significant step forward in our commitment to the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) in animal research. By integrating this technology, we not only adhere to ethical standards, but also enhance the quality and reliability of our scientific findings.
We are confident that FlockVision will bring about positive changes in our facility, ensuring that our animals in isolators and floor cages across various departments are cared for in the best possible manner while supporting our research goals effectively.
Behaviours
FlockVision offers continuous monitoring of six key behaviours: eating, drinking, foraging, grooming, walking, and resting. This allows you to quickly detect abnormalities and intervene in a timely manner. With a user-friendly dashboard in your app, you have real-time insight into changes in your flock's behaviour. This helps you take immediate action in response to unexpected behavioural changes.
1. Drinking: pecking at a drinker or drinking from a bowl.
2. Eating: the animal has its head above or in the feeder, indicating it is consuming food.
3. Foraging: activities such as ground scratching, where the animal scrapes the litter with its claws, and ground pecking, where the animal makes pecking movements in the litter.
4. Grooming: activities such as preening, where the animal cleans and maintains its feathers with its beak, and stretching, where the animal stretches its wings or legs.
5. Walking: the animal is moving around.
6. Resting: standing still, where the animal remains stationary without engaging in any other activity, and sitting, where the animal lies or sits without any other significant activity.
