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When California mandated the colony cage, chickens were guaranteed a spacious 116 square inches instead of the more typical 67 square inch battery cage. The roomier home diminished disease and lowered mortality rates.
Now, researchers are using AI to have more of an impact.
Chicken Welfare
Chickens squawk. they cluck, and I’ve been told they purr.
In one study called “Cracking the Code of Clucks – How AI Unravels Chicken Chatter Secrets,” researchers tried to figure out how chickens expressed joy, fear, and social cues. They wondered what conveyed dominance and instructions to chicks. They wanted to see what signaled illness or distress.
Because chicken communication is chock full of so many tones and nuance, only AI algorithms have the capacity to identify, record, and interpret what could add up to millions of data points. They needed AI and machine learning to rationalize the interplay of pitch, tone, and context.
In a second study, scientists used imagery software for 18,000 photos. Ranging from white to dark red, a chicken’s face seemed to get redder when it got more emotional. Calm, its face is white. Seeing enticing food (mealworms), they get a bit red. Then though, perceiving aggression, they get redder.
I assume, we are looking at two emotional chickens?
Our Bottom Line: Smart Farms
We see AI cited everywhere. Recognizing patterns in volumes of data, AI can tell us what they mean. But the references tend to be generic. Here, we can see a specific application. When a poultry farmer wants to decipher her chickens’ emotional state, she can use AI to identify a problem and solve it. She will know if her chickens are distressed or ill. So, when we connect AI to chicken clucks, we are really talking about smart farming.
The result, like the colony cages is a healthier (dare I add happier?) chicken, more eggs, and a longer life. It is a more profitable farm.
My sources and more: Rather amazingly, the more you look, the more you can find about chickens’ welfare. First, Business Insider provided a brief introduction to cluck research. Then, from there, the Poultry Producer, here and here, this paper on vocalization, and the Conversation had more detail. And finally, if all of this fascinates you, do look at this pig grunt study. (Short grunts are happy grunts.)
