Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41933534›Full record

ArticlePoultry science2026

Behavioral patterns in broiler chickens monitored with a multi-view tracking system.

Patricia Soster, Thorsten Cardoen, Camila Lopes Carvalho, Imad Khan, Bassem Khalfi, Ana Martos Martinez-Caja, Frank Tuyttens, Maarten De Gussem, Sam Leroux, Pieter Simoens and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Poultry science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Patricia SosterDepartment of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium; Poulpharm, Izegem, Belgium. Electronic address: Patricia.sosterdecarvalho@gmail.com.
Thorsten CardoenIDLab, Department of Information and Technology, Ghent University - IMEC, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 126, 9052, Belgium.
Camila Lopes CarvalhoDepartment of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium.
Imad KhanDepartment of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium.
Bassem KhalfiDepartment of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium.
Ana Martos Martinez-CajaDepartment of Veterinary and Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium.
Frank TuyttensDepartment of Veterinary and Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium; Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (ILVO), Merelbeke-Melle 9090, Belgium.
Maarten De GussemVetworks, Aalter, Belgium.
Sam LerouxIDLab, Department of Information and Technology, Ghent University - IMEC, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 126, 9052, Belgium.
Pieter SimoensIDLab, Department of Information and Technology, Ghent University - IMEC, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 126, 9052, Belgium.
Gunther AntonissenDepartment of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke-Melle 9820, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding behavioral changes across the production cycle is essential for broiler welfare assessment. This study monitored three key broiler chicken behaviors over time: activity level (based on net displacement per second) and time spent at the feeder and drinker zones. It includes the analysis of activity dynamics (high, medium, and low activity level), distance traveled over time, the effect of time of day (morning: 9:00-12:00, midday: 13:00-16:00, and evening: 18:00-21:00) on behaviors, and behavior during periods of experimentally induced high environmental temperature (29,4 ± 1°C; from days 29 to 33 and 36 to 40). This study involved four production rounds, each with 280 as hatched Ross 308 broilers (1,120 total), housed in two climate-controlled pens (9×4 m) per round (140 birds/pen; 14 kg/m²). A multi-camera system tracked broilers using a YOLOv11 model and the SORT algorithm. Tracklets (short segments of a moving object's trajectory) were projected onto ground-plane coordinates and merged across views to form unified movement paths. The system achieved high tracking accuracy (MOTA: 0.81; IDF1: 0.89). Video segments (n=1,641) of 3 minutes each were recorded between days 8 to 40. Broiler behaviors from 8 to 40 days of age were significantly influenced by high environmental temperature and age. Heat exposure increased time spent at the drinker and reduced time spent at the feeder zone, while overall activity levels were unaffected. Activity dynamics shifted across the production cycle, with high-intensity activity decreasing earlier and more rapidly than medium and low activity, leading to a progressive dominance of lower activity levels as broilers aged. Behavioral patterns also varied by time of day, with time at feeder zone and activity partially rebounding in the evening after the heat-challenge period. While the system offers valuable monitoring insights, it has only been tested under controlled conditions with low density, and validation under commercial conditions is still needed.

Indexed as

Animal HusbandryBehavior, AnimalChickensAnimalsHot TemperatureMaleVideo RecordingBehaviourPoultryPrecision livestock farmingTemperature challengeVideo analysis

Identifiers

PMID41933534
PMCPMC13087767

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.