Broiler chickens can benefit from machine learning: support vector machine analysis of observational epidemiological data

Broiler farmers have used data as an aid to health and production management for over 40 years [1,2]. Food and water consumption, growth and mortality have been used to construct standard production curves to monitor and improve performance. Daily flock data are plotted graphically on broiler house'door charts' and deviations used as early indicators of flock health and welfare [3]. Increasingly, these and other sensor-recorded data are being collected electronically, giving birth to the concept of precision livestock farming [4]. Broiler flocks generate large datasets.