Impact of lameness on broiler well-being

Nääs, Irenilza de Alencar; Paz, I. C. L. Almeida; Baracho, Marta S.; Menezes, Adriana Gomes de; Bueno, Leda Gobbo de Freitas; Almeida, I. C. L.; Moura, Daniella Jorge de

doi:10.3382/japr.2008-00061

Cited by 74 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Irrespective of this, a few individuals of the broiler population were able to achieve a much broader speed range, which is perhaps surprising, considering that a larger body mass is typically associated with poorer walking ability Kestin et al, 2001;Bokkers et al, 2007;Naas et al, 2009). The question then remains as to whether this broad speed range is indicative of a 'good' walking bird and/or whether it simply reflects differences in the gait characteristics of these commercial lines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The gait dynamics of the modern broiler chicken: A cautionary tale of selective breeding

Paxton

Daley

Corr

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYOne of the most extraordinary results of selective breeding is the modern broiler chicken, whose phenotypic attributes reflect its genetic success. Unfortunately, leg health issues and poor walking ability are prevalent in the broiler population, with the exact aetiopathogenesis unknown. Here we present a biomechanical analysis of the gait dynamics of the modern broiler and its two pureline commercial broiler breeder lines (A and B) in order to clarify how changes in basic morphology are associated with the way these chickens walk. We collected force plate and kinematic data from 25 chickens (market age), over a range of walking speeds, to quantify the three-dimensional dynamics of the centre of mass (CoM) and determine how these birds modulate the force and mechanical work of locomotion. Common features of their gait include extremely slow walking speeds, a wide base of support and large lateral motions of the CoM, which primarily reflect changes to cope with their apparent instability and large body mass. These features allowed the chickens to keep their peak vertical forces low, but resulted in high mediolateral forces, which exceeded fore-aft forces. Gait differences directly related to morphological characteristics also exist. This was particularly evident in Pureline B birds, which have a more crouched limb posture. Mechanical costs of transport were still similar across all lines and were not exceptional when compared with more wild-type ground-running birds. Broiler chickens seem to have an awkward gait, but some aspects of their dynamics show rather surprising similarities to other avian bipeds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

The gait dynamics of the modern broiler chicken: A cautionary tale of selective breeding

Paxton

Daley

Corr

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…These birds may also experience pain, though evidence on the correlations between lameness, pain and underlying pathologies is inconclusive. For example, several studies suggest that lame birds with higher GSs suffer pain when they walk (Mc Geown et al, 1999;Danbury et al, 2000;Buchwalder and Huber-Eicher, 2005;Naas et al, 2009;Caplen et al, 2014;Hothersall et al, 2016), whereas others argue that the relationship between lameness and pain (Skinner-Noble and Teeter, 2009;Siegel et al, 2011) and between lameness and underlying pathologies is weak (McNamee et al, 1998;Sandilands et al, 2011;Fernandes et al, 2012). Regardless of the variation in the findings of these studies, lameness constitutes a welfare problem because it leads to compromised mobility and probably pain in at least some birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the economic potential of reducing broiler lameness

Gocsik

Silvera

Hansson

et al. 2017

British Poultry Science

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1. The present study was designed first to explore the potential economic benefits of adopting management practices to reduce lameness in broiler farms, and second to explore farmers' possible perceptions of this potential in the Swedish context. The likely financial effects were addressed using a normative economic model, whereas a questionnaire-based survey was used to obtain in-depth knowledge about the perceptions of a group of broiler farmers in Sweden. 2. The three alternative practices (out of 6 tested) which realised the greatest improvements in gross margin and net return to management compared to the conventional practice were feeding whole wheat, sequential feeding and meal feeding. 3. The model showed that the negative effect of feeding whole wheat on feed conversion rate was outweighed by the effect of a low feed price and the associated decrease in feed costs. The price of wheat played a major role in the improvement of economic performance, whereas the reduction of lameness itself made a relatively minor contribution. 4. Apparently, the surveyed farmers do not recognise the potential of the positive effects of changing feed or feeding practices on both broiler welfare and farm economics although their implementation can be of great importance in the broiler sector where profit margins are very tight..

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“…On the other hand, stocking density had no significant effect on LMNS, and although it affects chicken welfare, stocking density per se is less important than other factors (Dawkins et al, 2004), since commercial broiler genotypes tend normally to develop LMNS (Nääs et al, 2009).…”

Section: Poormentioning

confidence: 86%

The influence of microclimate on the development of foot pad dermatitis in broilers

Tullo¹,

Aletti²,

Micheletti³

et al. 2018

10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X)

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Footpad dermatitis and lameness are a major welfare concern in broiler chicken farming. In general, footpad lesions are linked to poor environmental conditions. Ulcers that arise from advanced lesions can negatively affect the gait of the birds, with effects on the animal welfare, including, in the worst cases, inability to reach the feed or water.In this study, the degree of footpad dermatitis and lameness was manually scored on four broiler farms across Europe, as part of an EU-wide welfare assessment programme (Welfare Quality® protocol). Assessment of animal welfare is typically based on manual scoring, which requires a lot of trained manpower/labour. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) can combine information technologies into on-line automated tools that can be used to control, monitor and model the behavior of animals and their biological response without stressing, disturbing or handling the animals. The association between the PLF and the Welfare Quality® protocol was investigated to assess whether animal welfare could be better ensured if they were closely monitored with state of the art technology that gives rapid feedback to the farmer. Thus, the aim of this study was to find the association between environmental predisposing factors, measured continuously (such as the indoor temperature and humidity) and leg problems, scored manually during the welfare assessment procedure, in order to find an automated prediction system to detect those lesions. Even if genetics is a heavy predisposing factor for leg disorders, environmental condition could trigger the presence of lesions. Indeed, immobility on litter of poor quality might cause footpad dermatitis affecting the gait of birds. The association between automated control of the environmental conditions and the welfare assessments could be the basis for the development of models and algorithms capable to automatically detect thresholds above which lesions are mostly probable.

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Impact of lameness on broiler well-being

Cited by 74 publications

References 24 publications

The gait dynamics of the modern broiler chicken: A cautionary tale of selective breeding

The gait dynamics of the modern broiler chicken: A cautionary tale of selective breeding

Exploring the economic potential of reducing broiler lameness

The influence of microclimate on the development of foot pad dermatitis in broilers

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