Modern Technologies for Improving Broiler Production and Welfare: A Review

Abstract

The increasing level of poultry meat production, the lack of human workforce, and the rapid development of information technology have led to the application of precision livestock farming (PLF) systems in the poultry sector, as in other livestock sectors. PLF tools provide continuous, real-time, accurate, and non-invasive data acquisition regarding environmental and production parameters, animal health and behaviour. PLF technologies include sensors, cameras, and microphones for data collection, as well as networks, software, and computer systems for data processing and analysis. Most precision tools focus on some parameters or a group of parameters which are closely related and only a few provides a more complex view (i.e. multi-purpose robots). Besides the advantages, limitations of the systems should also be considered before the application. Limitations include technical failures and breakdowns, pathogen transmission, problems with the reliability of results, the reduction of human-animal contacts and animal welfare. Combination of the accessible technologies of different purposes should be applied on each farm to provide a complete, reliable technological background for farming. Tools should be connected to enable communication with each other and create a complex, reliable, precise background for farming. This also facilitates management decisions and the treatment of so-called “Big Data”