Analysis of Cluster and Unrest Behaviors of Laying Hens Housed under Different Thermal Conditions and Light Wave Length

Abstract

Laying hens are affected by the intensity, wavelength, and duration of light, and the behavioral patterns of these animals are important indicators of stress. The objective of the present study was to evaluate cluster and unrest behaviors of lying hens submitted to three environments with different treatments of monochromatic lighting (blue, green, and red). For 29 weeks, 60 laying hens from the Lohmann variety were divided into three groups and monitored by surveillance cameras installed on each shed ceiling and directed to the floor. Each group was housed in a small-scale shed and maintained under a monochromatic lighting treatment. The recordings were made at two times of the day, 15 min in the morning and 15 min in the afternoon, and the videos were processed, segmented, and analyzed computationally. From the analysis of the images, the cluster and unrest indexes were calculated. The results showed the influence of lighting on these behaviors, displaying that the birds were more agitated in the treatments with shorter wavelengths. Cluster behavior was higher in birds housed under red light. There was an interaction between the lighting treatments and the thermal environment, indicating that more studies should be carried out in this area to better understand these behavioral changes.

Keywords

• image analysis
• precision poultry farming
• animal welfare
• movement analysis
• LED
• comfort index