Incidence, severity, and relationship of broiler footpad lesions and gait scores of market-age broilers raised under commercial conditions in the southeastern United States

The prevalence and severity of footpad dermatitis (FPD) and gait score (GS) as an indicator of lameness in commercial broiler production in the United States has not been widely reported. The objectives of this field study were to determine the prevalence and severity of FPD and lameness in commercial broilers, as well as the relationship between FPD and GS under the production conditions typical of the southeastern United States. Observations were collected from an integrated broiler complex producing a light broiler (1.94 to 2.22 kg) and an integrated broiler complex producing a heavier broiler (3.62 to 3.76 kg). Data were collected from 554 farms, 16,697 houses, and 166,977 broilers, representing over 328 million birds over the 3-year span of the study. Light broilers had significantly better FPD and GS than heavier broilers. Additionally, there was a strongly significant association between FPD and GS within a complex. There were significantly greater odds of GS worsening as FPD worsened and significantly high odds of FPD becoming more severe as GS worsened.