Keel under pressure (KUP)
Project overview
Participants
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Short summary
Keel bone damage (KBD) is one of the most critical welfare concerns for laying hens in modern egg production. Despite ongoing research, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the underlying causes of this multi-factorial problem.
Our primary objective is to enhance knowledge that will improve keel bone health in hens. Specifically, we aim to determine whether offering a variety of perch types during rearing has a positive impact on keel bone health, investigate the development and welfare consequences of keel bone deviations, and develop a non-invasive method to detect KBD by assessing the birds' movement in a 3D space.
This project aims to address these gaps by (1) investigating the effect of varied perch types, offering a new perspective on the link between housing conditions and KBD, (2) studying the underexplored issue of keel bone deviations, and (3) utilizing markerless computer vision (CV) technology to gather detailed biomechanical data on laying hens. The knowledge obtain in the experimental setting will be also be applied on a commercial layer farm.
By introducing novel approaches to both perch provision and the use of cutting-edge computer vision, this project will contribute to better animal welfare and more sustainable egg production.