Wet litter as a cause of plantar pododermatitis, leading to foot ulceration and lameness in fattening turkeys

Abstract

SUMMARYSpraying water to produce wet litter increased the severity and incidence of plantar pododermatitis in two commercial strains of fattening turkeys. A clinical syndrome resembling "shaky leg" was also produced. In one experiment breast blisters, scabby hocks and a depression of final body weight were seen.

Ulcerative dermatitis dm broiler chickens: The effects of wet litter

“…Wet litter has recently been shown to be a cause of plantar pododermatitis, scabby hocks and breast lesions in turkeys (Martland, 1984). The author has also observed similar lesions in broiler chickens, especially when grown to "roaster" weights, and in broiler breeder males.…”

“…Hock and breast skin lesions were minimal in control birds at both ages examined. DISCUSSION Wet litter produced plantar pododermatitis in commercial broiler chickens comparable to that produced in turkeys (Martland, 1984) but differing in several respects. The metatarsal and digital pads and interpad spaces became ulcerated in chickens whereas only the pads were affected in turkeys.…”

“…The litter in the other pen (control group) was kept dry by regular renewal of shavings around the drinker and feeders. At the end of the experiment samples of litter from each group were assessed for moisture content as previously described (Martland, 1984). Litter pH was also measured at various depths using Whatman pH paper.…”

“…Their feet were cleaned and examined for evidence of plantar pododermatitis and other skin lesions at approximately weekly intervals from 3 to 9 weeks. Foot lesion severity was scored on a scale of 0 to 3 as previously used for turkeys (Martland, 1984):…”

Foot pad dermatitis in growing turkeys is associated with cytokine and cellular changes indicative of an inflammatory immune response

“…FPD develops rapidly in commercial flocks, where fully developed lesions occur by 3 weeks of age and from 6 weeks lesions simply increase in size (Mayne et al, 2006(Mayne et al, , 2007a. FPD is associated with redness, swelling and tissue necrosis, and may also be accompanied by pain (Martland, 1984(Martland, , 1985Mayne, 2005;Mayne et al, 2007b). Histopathologically, FPD is associated with massive increases in heterophils and macrophages and the loss of surface keratin (Mayne et al, 2006).…”