Evaluating avoidance distance of broilers exposed to aerial automated systems

Labor intensity of broiler production may be reduced by using automated systems for flock inspections. However, the broilers‘ attitude/response toward these systems remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the avoidance distance (AD) of broilers toward two aerial automated systems, a drone and a rail system with a dummy arm, operated at different speeds, heights, and frequencies in a commercial broiler house. The AD is the distance between an animal and an approaching object at the instant of animal withdrawal, which is a standard welfare measurement for poultry attitude towards approaching objects. The experiment house measured 120 m x 13 m x 3 m (L x W x H) with a capacity of 18,700 broilers and a production cycle of 7 weeks. The drone was a white DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 which had a dimension of 0.5 m x 0.4 m x 0.2 m (L x W x H). A 6.0 m x 1.5 m (L x W) nylon fishing net was attached to a 1 m high pole to protect the birds from an accidental drop of the drone during the experiment. The rail system was made of structural extruded aluminum with a dimension of 2.0 m x 0.02 m x 0.06 m (L x W x H). It included a gantry plate on a pulley system with a dummy arm attached to the mobile plate. The pulley system was operated by a stepper motor that was controlled by an Arduino Uno R3 board. A camera attached on the ceiling was used to record videos for determining ADs. The AD of broilers were determined at 4, 6, and 7 weeks of age. Results show that broiler ADs to drone and aerial rail system varied at different bird ages, operation speeds and heights. The outcomes of this study can help to better understand interaction of broilers with aerial automated systems and provide insights into optimization of aerial vehicle operational strategies while maintaining good broiler welfare production.