Abstract
SUMMARY In the poultry sector, sex determination of a one-day-old chick is one of the critical activities. Current sexing methods include cloacal examination, feather sexing, genetic testing, etc. However, there are limitations in using these methods, such as operational difficulties, high costs involved, effective for only certain breeds, and the need for highly skilled workers. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using chicken vocalisations for stress detection, health monitoring and welfare study as they are non-invasive, cheaper and also provide valuable information. Sounds produced by male and female birds vary greatly due to anatomical variation in vocal organs and vocalisation mechanisms. Analyzing the sound signals can help determine the sex of birds. Gender determination of birds using vocalisation analysis started with wild monomorphic birds because of the difficulty in capturing and restraining them for wildlife studies or management. Voice-based sexing using separate calls or duet calls can be used for sex identification of adult birds of more than 69 species from 16 orders. In adult birds, distinct differences in the voice of male and female birds because of the fully developed organs, makes it easier to identify. However, the task is tough in one day old chicks where the vocal organs not fully matured. However, recent studies showed the potential of chicken vocalisations for the determination of gender of one day old chick. However, there are still a lot of challenges in collecting the audio signals from chicks, processing the data and analysis and automating the process. Considering that the use of audio signals for sex determination is non-invasive, efficient, less labour-intensive, as research in this domain advances, the technology may represent a feasible alternative to the current gender determination techniques for routine use in commercial hatcheries especially in developing countries.
Published Version
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