One major welfare issue affecting broilers is lameness, which is related to the genetic selection and management for rapid growth. Lameness is also influenced by the fast breast muscle development of the bird. Seventy or eighty years ago, broilers took about 13 weeks to reach market weight- now they only take about 6 weeks! Gait disorders may be painful, can cause birds to have trouble reaching food and water, and may even cause downgrading or condemnation of the carcasses at the plant.
Producers can monitor the leg and foot health of their flocks easily by gait and foot pad scoring. These techniques can also be applied to turkeys and cage-free layers (with some modifications).
Gait scoring can be conducted by walking the length of the house and observing about 100 birds split between various locations. The birds should be able to walk at least 5 feet without sitting down or showing any visible signs of lameness. Ideally, two or fewer birds out of 100 would show signs of lameness or not be able to walk 5 feet (refer to the National Chicken Council guidelines for the full procedure).
Foot pad scoring can be done in the house as a lead indicator of welfare (within the growing cycle so corrective action can be implemented) or at the plant as a lag indicator of welfare (after the fact, but possibly useful information to apply to the next flock). If the scoring is done in the house, the producer should take care that the birds are handled properly and not unduly stressed by catching. A foot pad "pass" would be either normal colored skin or slight discoloration, hyperkeratosis (thickening of the skin), or a lesion covering less than half of the foot pad. A foot pad "fail" would be erosions, scabs, or ulcerations covering more than half of the foot pad. Out of 100 birds, at least 90 should pass.