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epi@vetmed.fu-berlin.de
RFID sensors is a promising technology for wellfare and health conditions assessment in the egg production industry. We analyse the dataset on free-range hens movements in Australia from 18 000 commercial laying hens using a highly innovative custom-built RFID system, which allowed to trace individual hen movements on the range and in the hen house for the entire 56 week duration of the laying period. Based on the data, we construct the
corresponding individual mobility networks with nodes being locations and links being movements between them. We investigate the resulting networks in terms of degree distribution and higher order correlation structures, such as clustering coefficient, motifs, communities and centrality measures. We also correlate the obtained network measures with activity patterns and health characteristics of the hens. Our study demonstrates that health and performance indicators enriched with the network analysis promise to improve the hens well-being as well as to allow targeted interventions and optimise economical efficiency of the egg production industry.