Stress-Free Detection Technologies for Pig Growth Based on Welfare Farming: A Review

Abstract

Abstract. The detection of pig growth and monitoring of abnormal behaviors are key steps in pig breeding management. Using conventional methods to obtain information on growth and abnormal behavior causes stress to pigs, directly affects the number of live pigs for market, and decreases the quality of the pork. Moreover, this approach requires considerable labor, reduces economic returns, and does not meet the requirements of high-welfare farming. Compared to the conventional methods for obtaining growth parameters and data on abnormal behaviors, modern information technology provides a new method for stress-free growth detection and behavior monitoring in farmed pigs. This article first summarizes the importance of body size, body mass, and abnormal behaviors as well as the correlations among these factors. For the research on growth detection and behavior monitoring based on computer vision, radio frequency identification (RFID) and sensor technology, methods of detecting increases in body size and body mass and methods of monitoring abnormal behaviors are summarized separately. Through computer-computer vision technology, we found that the data sampling for growth and abnormal behaviors of the pigs was achieved without contact monitoring but, rather, occurred at the expense of complex data calculation and a higher illumination requirement during data collection. However, with the development of depth camera technology and improved product performance, technology based on high-precision depth cameras reduces the amount of data processing and complexity, making it possible to obtain real-time data on pig growth and abnormal behaviors. Moreover, with the advantages of no contact and no stress, the method conforms to the requirements of welfare farming. Keywords: Abnormal behaviors, Stress-free detection, Welfare farming.