Tunmise Faith Ehigbor
Arrell Scholar, Animal Biosciences
Faith’s research involves assessing the value of offering edible enrichments to laying hens to support foraging behaviour, reduce feather pecking and improve welfare. His research aims to address a behaviour problem found in laying hens that affects their welfare and impacts the sustainability of egg farming worldwide. Faith hopes that his research will improve productivity, quality, food safety, and economic returns, and therefore contribute to food security and economic prosperity.
Learn more about Arrell Scholarships“Increasing attention to animal welfare and improving global food production practices will not only help egg farmers but will also improve egg production and bolster the food system as a whole.”
Research Interests and Future Goals
Faith obtained his B.A. in Agriculture – Animal Physiology with a first-class degree at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 2021. His undergraduate thesis focused on the administration of ginger and tiger nut powder additives to lactating West African Dwarf goats at the late stage of lactation. He has spent time volunteering on farms and working on research projects. One research project was an applied ethology study which discovered that tail wagging could be an indicator of positive welfare in goat kids (Ehigbor et al., 2021). Faith presented this work at the International Society for Applied Ethology, Australasia-Africa Regional meeting (ISAE-AA) in December 2021.
As a member of the Animal Welfare Student Club, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Faith actively supports the club’s mission of increasing the awareness of animal welfare through outreach to farmers and informing the public on the proper care of animals. Faith has also worked on a project investigating how Nigerian indigenous chicks show age-related differences in vocalization characteristics during short term social isolation.
For his MSc program, Faith will study in the Department of Animal Biosciences at the University of Guelph and will be supervised by Dr. Tina Widowski, Professor of Animal Biosciences and Egg Farmers of Canada Research Chair in Poultry Welfare. After completing his MSc degree, Faith hopes to further his studies by pursuing a PhD and carrying out research that combines his background in agriculture with training in animal behaviour and welfare, by working to set animal welfare policies for government agencies in Africa. Working closely with producers to develop egg production systems and management practices will help him to ensure mutually beneficial and profitable situations for the layer flocks and people in the industry.
Why become an Arrell Scholar?
Faith was eager to work with Dr. Widowski because of her commitment to sustainable and ethical animal practices. He knew he would benefit from her mentorship and wealth of experience in the industry. Faith was inspired by AFI’s vision for improving global food systems and admired the prospect of being in a multi-disciplinary team that connects the community, researchers, and industry partners to solve global food issues.