Future of bird health and welfare assessments: Using the IoA

The poultry industry has been receiving some of the benefits of the rapid expansion of electronic sensors, devices, telecommunications, software, the internet, and cloud-based connectivity. However, new developments in these areas can take us to a whole new level...

Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Profesor y Especialista de Extensión en Nutrición y Manejo de Pollo de Engorde en el Departamento “Prestage” de Ciencias Avícolas de la Universidad Estatal de Carolina del Norte (NCSU). Médico Veterinario Zootecnista por la Universidad del Tolima de Ibagué, Colombia.

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In this article, we will review some of the sensors currently under evaluation and some that are already being used to assess poultry welfare using the Internet of Animals, IoA.

The poultry industry has been receiving some of the benefits of the rapid expansion of electronic sensors, devices, telecommunications, software, the internet, and cloud-based connectivity. However, new developments in these areas can take us to a whole new level.

• The adoption rate of new technologies in the poultry industry is one of the highest in the agricultural sector. One of the most disruptive technologies is the Internet of Things (IoT), the network of interconnected devices and software without human
• In the poultry sector, the Internet of Animals (IoA) starts when these interconnected systems transfer data to the network related to the animal environmental conditions and the animal responses to be used in decision-making or to take immediate actions.
• The IoA belongs to the technological movement of smart farming and precision livestock farming technologies.
• The IoA can help to improve the efficiency, biosecurity, food safety, welfare, sustainability, and transparency of the poultry industry.

In the Internet of Animals, IoA, electronic sensors that measure physiological parameters may make a difference in future welfare assessments.