Ms. Shagofta Shabashkhan

Project Name: Welfare in a Snapshot: Thermal Imaging for Real-Time and Cumulative Welfare Assessment in Hens

My PhD explores how thermal imaging can be used to understand and monitor stress and welfare in laying hens. When birds experience stress, their skin exhibits distinctive temperature changes. By capturing these changes continuously and non-invasively through thermal imaging, my research aims to reveal how a hen’s welfare, health, and perception of her environment are reflected in physiological thermal responses.

The project combines controlled, small-scale experiments with large-scale data collection in commercial flocks, in collaboration with the Lakes Free Range Egg Company. This interdisciplinary work integrates experimental design in physiology and cognition with computational modelling and machine learning approaches in thermal biology and animal welfare science.

Ultimately, my goal is to develop novel tools and concepts for assessing stress and welfare in hens, with potential applications across livestock systems and precision livestock farming. This research contributes to advancing real-time welfare monitoring and data-driven approaches in animal science.

Supervisors:

1st Supervisor: Dr Katherine Herborn

2nd Supervisor: Dr Mark Whiteside

3rd Supervisor: Dr Ian Howard

4th Supervisor: Dr Oliver Tills