An integrated commercial poultry breeding framework for natural mating and animal welfare

Current breeding programs were designed for intensive cage-based production and cannot fully support future welfare-oriented poultry systems. This review proposes a novel commercial poultry breeding framework explicitly designed for natural mating and free-range environments. The proposed system integrates several major interconnected core pillars: (1) fully automated phenotyping utilizing 3D computer vision, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to continuously collect individual-level behavioral and/or physiological data in open environments; (2) genome-based pedigree reconstruction to accurately infer parent-offspring relationships when natural mating precludes controlled artificial insemination; (3) genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) for precise breeding value estimation in large, randomly mating populations; (4) natural mating without predetermined mate allocation in large populations; and (5) multi-omics integration accounting for gene-environment interactions to enhance climate resilience. These pillars operate synergistically: automated phenotyping and genomic pedigree tracking generate high-density data streams that feed into genomic prediction models, while multi-omics approaches refine selection decisions under variable environmental conditions. Unlike conventional cage-based systems that rely on artificial insemination, this framework is designed to eliminate labor associated with artificial insemination and enables integration of pedigreed pure lines and great-grandparent populations. Conditional on active genomic management of reproductive skew, it has the potential to sustain high genetic diversity within large natural-mating cohorts, thereby offering prospects for reduced long-term operational costs alongside improved environmental adaptability and bird welfare. Key transition challenges include high initial capital investment in automated phenotyping infrastructure and the prerequisite for robust genomic selection pipelines. To our knowledge, this is the first review proposing an integrated commercial breeding framework specifically designed for free-range natural mating systems.