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App that decodes chicken lingo offers promise of a better life for the animals

Ever wonder what the clacks, clucks and erratic trills of backyard chickens might mean? Do those staccato sounds mean they are happy, sad, distressed or perfectly content?

Well, a new app developed by Dalhousie researchers is offering some insight into the varied meanings behind a chicken's complex chatter.

Available on both iOS and Android, Cluckify offers a unique, research-informed experience that helps users explore and interpret chicken vocalizations. Grounded in the science of bioacoustics and animal behavior, the app invites users to go beyond simply hearing birds—to starting to understand them.

"When the farmers or backyard chicken owners interact with the chickens, they can use this app to check up on what the birds are saying," says Dr. Suresh Neethirajan, an associate professor in Dal's Faculty of Computer Science and the app's designer.

"They can use this as a tool to find out how the birds are 'feeling,' whether their needs are being met and what their mental make-up is based on the vocalizations. They listen to the actual chicken calls and use the app to decipher the meaning behind their bird songs and bird calls."

Guess the cluck

The app, which saw about 1,845 downloads at the iOS store as of Wednesday, includes a categorized library of vocalizations tied to social and behavioral cues; a spectrogram tool to explore pitch, rhythm and tone; and an interactive quiz ("Guess the Cluck") to test users' interpretation skills.

Dr. Neethirajan, also a University Research Chair in Digital Livestock Farming and cross-appointed to the Faculty of Agriculture, stresses that the app is built to educate, not just entertain, and draws on animal welfare research, digital agriculture and precision livestock science. Developed by his MooAnalytica research group, it reimagines how people can engage with animals, starting with chickens. An app involving cow sounds is in the works.

Cluckify isn't a soundboard but includes about 45 different categories of sounds, including social calls, rooster calls, a mother laying hen calling her chicklings and territorial calls. The goal is to use technology for good, encouraging people to understand the emotional state of chickens to improve their welfare.

"We developed this app as part of our effort to position Canada as a global leader in digital livestock farming," says Dr. Neethirajan, adding that content farm animals tend to be more productive. "We hope that with greater understanding, we can increase the quality of their lives on the farm."