AI-Supported Detection of Footpad Lesions in Broiler Chickens

Changes to the footpads are among the most important animal welfare indicators in broiler chicken rearing and can point to problems with house climate, litter quality or management. Fraunhofer IGD is developing an automated, image-based system which uses AI to objectively detect changes and lesions on the footpads of broiler chickens and assess their severity. This enables abnormalities to be identified at an early stage, targeted measures to be taken, and animal welfare and flock health to be improved in the long term.