Sound monitoring as a welfare tool in the commercial laying hen house

Poultry farmers, veterinarians and other specialists use their senses to monitor animal health in the poultry house. Animal health is crucial for optimal poultry production, but accurate health monitoring requires more and more knowledge and time due to increased numbers of birds per farm and the complex 3D nature of their housing system. Poultry farmers themselves indicate that (deviations in) vocalizations in the laying hen house can be an indication of suboptimal animal health.

Vencomatic Group wants to investigate whether continuous sound monitoring can support the poultry farmer in daily laying hen management. A previous orientation showed the feasibility of sound monitoring in a semi-commercial laying hen house, but also left us with several animal technical questions. This assignment is a continuation of the previous orientation. The student will receive and analyze sound datasets at the start of the internship. Depending on the results, the student will design follow-up experiments to investigate the relationship between (abnormalities in) sound and laying hen health and welfare. The student will substantiate these relationships through literature reviews and contact with poultry specialists.

During this assignment, you can take a look in the headquarters of Vencomatic in Eersel, but you will also have the opportunity to visit poultry houses. The student must be in possession of a driver's license B. This assignment aligns with the field(s) of study Agrotechnology, Animal Science and Biology. The duration of the assignment is estimated to be approximately 5 months (full-time).

If interested or in case of questions, please send your motivation letter and CV, with mentioning the title of the thesis, to Vencomatic Group: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..