Researchers Working on Poultry Stress

Presently, the only way to measure stress levels in poultry flocks is to measure cortisol and adrenaline in blood samples. That is not practical or efficient. So researchers, participating in a study called the Dolittle Project, hope they can better understand stress in laying hens by applying speech-processing algorithms to animal vocalizations.

According to researchers at the University of Connecticut, understanding the vocal patterns of laying hens may reveal how stress affects meat yields and egg production and ultimately could help producers boost output.

Dr. Michael Darre, an animal science professor at the University, says - alleviating stress in commercial flocks of laying hens and broilers is important - not only because it improves the overall welfare of the birds, but also because stress is a known enemy of production efficiencies. Darre says, so far, - vocalization patterns have been found to be different for stress due to handling and stress due to overcrowding.

Dare points out that - chronic stress has been shown to reduce egg production, reduce growth and meat yields, and lower immune system function. The goal of the project is to develop a device that can be placed in chicken houses that allows farmers to remotely monitor the birds and notify them when it detects stress vocalizations.