Leg Weaknesses and Lameness Assessment Methods in Broiler Chickens

In this study, firstly, a brief evolution of the chickens was mentioned and then ‘leg weakness’ and what leg weakness means in the broiler sector were investigated. “Leg weakness” is a vague term used to describe properties of infective and non-infective nature that occur in modern, fast-growing broilers. Modern broilers commercially grown are prone to foot problems, including lameness, footpad dermatitis and hock-burn. Lameness is an extensive term used for some damages of broiler chickens with infective and non-infective source. Lameness is a very big problem in the broiler industry. For the United State in 2002, the costs of lameness were predicted to be between $80 million and $120 million. However, in literature, it has been proven that the lameness strongly correlated with weight, growth rate and activity. The time before the chick reaches, a live weight of 1500 g was reduced from 120 days to 30 days in 80 years. As results of fast growing, severe problems have been occurred in broiler chickens. For example, the animals with severe problems have a reduced feed efficiency and lower growth. The carcass quality of these animals has also been decreased in value. Additional to the welfare problems that have been caused by leg problems, also financial losses have been occurred for the producers. Therefore, the first purpose of this study is created as to review the leg weaknesses of broilers and provides to readers a brief discussion of the factors influencing this problem. The second purpose of this study is to review the lameness and lameness assessment methods for broilers. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed. At the end of this review, brief conclusions can be found with related reference list.

Keywords: Precision livestock farming; Broiler; Lameness; Chicken; Technology; Image analysis; PLF