Ep 58 | FAI and Birdbox: Listening to hens, the next step in flock monitoring?

Could the sounds inside a poultry house help producers spot health and welfare problems before they develop?This week, Jake and Tom are joined by Carly Scott, FAI director and BirdBox project lead, and Professor Lucy Asher of Newcastle University to discuss the next generation of BirdBox and the research behind its flock-monitoring technology. The project began around a decade ago with a challenge from the Lakes Free Range Egg Company: bring together the information collected on farms and across the supply chain, and put it to practical use. Carly explains how BirdBox combines in-house sensors, a digital flock book and information such as feed, veterinary and egg-grading data to help producers monitor their flocks and investigate performance problems. The next step is moving beyond looking back at what went wrong towards identifying warning signs earlier. The discussion covers what water consumption and egg-grading data can reveal, how the farmer-facing dashboard works, and the ambition to support earlier intervention when birds are heading towards ill health or behaviours such as feather-pecking and smothering. Lucy explains the work to recognise chicken vocalisations automatically, including the challenges of accounting for different breeds, ages and housing systems — and hens that appear to invent their own “slang”. Also explored is why the team is prioritising explainable AI, expert checks and balances and commercial validation. Finally, Carly considers how the data could support decisions across the wider egg supply chain and previews the planned BirdBox launch and demonstrations at BFREPA Live.