Poultry digital twins must earn their authority: Biological validity, welfare value, and responsible adoption
- 1Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, 6050 University Avenue, PO Box 15000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, 58 Sipu Road, PO Box 550, Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, B2N 5E3, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
Digital twins could connect poultry observations with decisions about welfare, physiology, production and product quality, but their usefulness depends on what is represented, how the representation is updated, and what decisions it improves. This critical narrative review examines poultry studies and related methodological literature to distinguish sensing performance, biological validity and decision value. I define a poultry digital twin as a persistent, dynamically updated representation of a specified physical entity or process, with a model of change and an explicit decision and feedback pathway. Seven author-defined categories organize the discussion: HatchTwin, HenTwin, CluckTwin, EggTwin, FlockTwin Population and BroilerTwin cover overlapping application domains, while ChickenTwin provides a comparative umbrella. These names do not imply seven validated systems. The evidence map separates biological reference studies and sensing components from integrated implementations, and distinguishes commercial testing from demonstrated intervention benefit. Context-dependent signals, incomplete identity, correlated measurements and limited external evaluation constrain the interpretation of welfare and production states. Building on these findings, I define staged evaluation through biological validation, prospective silent operation and appropriately designed decision trials. Outcomes should include animal-based welfare, production, workload, costs and unintended harm. Canadian examples illustrate adoption and governance under a defined jurisdiction. The proposed framework is intended to guide testable claims and proportionate use; its effectiveness as a whole remains to be evaluated.
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BibTeX
@article{neethirajan2026poultry,
title = {{Poultry digital twins must earn their authority: Biological validity, welfare value, and responsible adoption}},
author = {Suresh Raja Neethirajan},
journal = {Poultry Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.psj.2026.107957},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107957},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Poultry digital twins must earn their authority: Biological validity, welfare value, and responsible adoption
AU - Suresh Raja Neethirajan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Poultry Science
DO - 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107957
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2026.107957
AB - Digital twins could connect poultry observations with decisions about welfare, physiology, production and product quality, but their usefulness depends on what is represented, how the representation is updated, and what decisions it improves. This critical narrative review examines poultry studies and related methodological literature to distinguish sensing performance, biological validity and decision value. I define a poultry digital twin as a persistent, dynamically updated representation of a specified physical entity or process, with a model of change and an explicit decision and feedback pathway. Seven author-defined categories organize the discussion: HatchTwin, HenTwin, CluckTwin, EggTwin, FlockTwin Population and BroilerTwin cover overlapping application domains, while ChickenTwin provides a comparative umbrella. These names do not imply seven validated systems. The evidence map separates biological reference studies and sensing components from integrated implementations, and distinguishes commercial testing from demonstrated intervention benefit. Context-dependent signals, incomplete identity, correlated measurements and limited external evaluation constrain the interpretation of welfare and production states. Building on these findings, I define staged evaluation through biological validation, prospective silent operation and appropriately designed decision trials. Outcomes should include animal-based welfare, production, workload, costs and unintended harm. Canadian examples illustrate adoption and governance under a defined jurisdiction. The proposed framework is intended to guide testable claims and proportionate use; its effectiveness as a whole remains to be evaluated.
SN - 0032-5791
SN - 1525-3171
ER -