Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada.
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A8, Canada.
Poult Sci. 2023 Oct;102(10):102966. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2023.102966. Epub 2023 Jul 26.
Poultry activity measurements are often associated with expensive equipment or time-consuming behavior observations. Since low-cost accelerometers are available, the current study validated the FitBark (FitBark 2, FitBark Inc., Kansas City, MO) accelerometer for use on 30 to 32-d-old male Ross 708 broilers. The FitBark provides aggregated activity levels based on tri-axial accelerometer technology. Broilers were housed in 5 rooms, each divided into 12 2 × 2.3 m pens (60 birds per pen, 31 kg m final density). From 30 to 32 d, 1 broiler per room (n = 5) was randomly selected and equipped with a 13 g FitBark. Elastic loops were placed around the wings to secure the FitBark medially on the back. During the same time, validity was assessed via ceiling-mounted video cameras. The video recordings were analyzed using 20-min continuous sampling during the photo phase at 8 time periods per bird. Behavior was assessed every second using an ethogram (9,600 data points per bird). In the first step, the FitBark data were matched and correlated with the corresponding video-based observed activity (OA) data. The FitBark and OA data were not normally distributed (1-sample KS test, all n = 800, Z = 0.21, Z = 0.24, all P < 0.001). Therefore, data were transformed, and a repeated measures correlation was performed for each bird, showing a positive correlation between the FitBark and OA data (r = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.72-0.78, df = 794, P < 0.001). In the second step, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated. The FitBark correctly identified 91% (sensitivity) of the active and 74% (specificity) of the inactive birds. When the FitBark detected an active or inactive bird, there was a probability of 89% (PPV) and 78% (NPV) that the bird was observed to be active or inactive based on the OA data. Accuracy was at 86%. Overall, FitBark are useful for 1-min interval activity measurements in 30 to 32-d-old male Ross 708 broilers. Further research should focus on validating the FitBark at other ages and in different poultry species.
家禽活动测量通常与昂贵的设备或耗时的行为观察有关。由于现在有低成本的加速度计，因此本研究验证了 FitBark（FitBark 2，FitBark Inc.，堪萨斯城，密苏里州）加速度计在 30 至 32 日龄雄性罗斯 708 肉鸡上的使用。FitBark 基于三轴加速度计技术提供综合活动水平。肉鸡饲养在 5 个房间中，每个房间分为 12 个 2×2.3 米的围栏（每个围栏 60 只鸡，最终密度为 31 千克/平方米）。从 30 至 32 日龄，每个房间随机选择 1 只肉鸡（n=5），并配备 13 克 FitBark。弹性环放置在翅膀周围，将 FitBark 固定在背部中央。同时，通过天花板安装的摄像机评估有效性。使用 20 分钟的连续采样，在每个鸡的 8 个时间段内对照片阶段进行视频记录分析。使用行为谱（每只鸡 9600 个数据点）每秒钟评估一次行为。在第一步中，将 FitBark 数据与相应的基于视频的观察活动（OA）数据相匹配并相关联。FitBark 和 OA 数据不是正态分布的（1 样本 KS 检验，所有 n=800，Z=0.21，Z=0.24，均 P<0.001）。因此，对数据进行了转换，并对每只鸡进行了重复测量相关性分析，结果表明 FitBark 和 OA 数据之间存在正相关（r=0.76，95%CI=0.72-0.78，df=794，P<0.001）。在第二步中，计算了灵敏度、特异性、阳性预测值（PPV）、阴性预测值（NPV）和准确性。FitBark 正确识别了 91%（灵敏度）的活跃鸡和 74%（特异性）的不活跃鸡。当 FitBark 检测到活跃或不活跃的鸡时，根据 OA 数据，鸡活跃或不活跃的概率分别为 89%（PPV）和 78%（NPV）。准确性为 86%。总体而言，FitBark 适用于 30 至 32 日龄雄性罗斯 708 肉鸡的 1 分钟间隔活动测量。进一步的研究应集中在验证 FitBark 在其他年龄和不同家禽品种中的有效性。
