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Researchers at Iowa State University are trying to improve the welfare and health of chickens with virtual reality (VR).
In recent years, VR technology has found its way into every part of life. From video games to job training, VR tries to give users an experience as close to reality as possible. Although this technological advancement may seem dystopian to many, researchers across the country are finding ways to improve our daily lives.
Mela Melata, associate professor, Iowa State University’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Graham Redwick, a recent doctoral student in Iowa State’s Interdepartmental Microbiology Graduate Program, are looking at whether VR can still be used in unconventional ways. Time for the birds.
Iowa State researchers say the growing demand for cage-free eggs is due to the better welfare of chickens, especially in terms of natural behavior. However, cage-free systems can present challenges such as injuries and bacterial infections, so most broiler chickens are housed in conventional cages. Melata envisions VR technology, like a chicken coop, to simulate a free range.
“There are many challenges associated with free-range production environments for planting chickens, including increased risk of injury, disease and predators,” Melata said. “However, free-range chickens tend to engage more often in positive and ‘normal’ behaviors that appear to enhance their overall health and immunity.
The study, “Exposure to a virtual environment induces biological and microbiota changes in Onset-of-Lay Hens,” was published in the peer-reviewed journal. frontiers of science, Exposing chickens to VR scenes in natural environments has proven to reduce stress markers in the chickens’ blood and gut microbiota. “It’s surprising to think that even exposure to a chicken-free environment could promote the same immune benefits,” Mellett said.
Chickens are very receptive to visual stimuli. Like their T-Rex ancestors, chickens have poor depth perception and perceive objects better when they are moving than when they are not. According to the study, this means that environmental factors such as color, light quality, duration and intensity affect the behavior of poultry.
For example, when you watch a video of chicks feeding, the birds will imitate these behaviors and quickly approach their food.
The study found that VR exposure poses a health risk to people who consume poultry and contaminated eggs through biochemical changes associated with increased resistance to E. coli bacteria.
Researchers show video projections of free-range chickens. Scenes showed indoor amenities ranging from an outdoor fenced scratch area and an unfenced open field with grass, shrubs and flowers. 34 chickens from a poultry farm were exposed to the videos on all four walls of their housing over five days. The videos were tested during a period of high stress exposure – 15 weeks after hatching, the stage at which commercial chickens are moved to egg production facilities.
Visual-only recordings showed different groups of free-range chickens performing tasks associated with positive poultry behaviors based on time of day; For example, milking, ironing, dusting and vacuuming. Videos were not shown to a control group of similar size and age in the same housing.
The researchers analyzed samples of their blood, tissues and gut microbiota. Chickens in the treatment group showed many significant changes compared to the control group. The differences include low stress indicators and increased resistance to avian pathogens that can cause sepsis and death in young birds.
“We need more research, but this shows that virtual reality can be a relatively simple tool to improve chicken health and food safety in certain environments,” Melata said. “It can also be a relatively inexpensive way to reduce infection and reduce the need for antibiotics in egg production.”
The team hopes to expand the study to conduct a similar study over a longer period of time, with more chickens and chickens at different stages to see if the results can be replicated.
“Future research in collaboration with our veterinary partners is needed to investigate the neurochemical mechanisms that link visual stimuli to changes in the gut of the chicken,” Melata said.
It can be the whole study Seen here.
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