Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Vet Rec. 2018 Aug 11;183(6):192. doi: 10.1136/vr.104817. Epub 2018 May 30.
The aim of this study was to survey and report the walking ability in broilers housed in both conventional and organic production systems in Denmark. To this end, the authors assessed the walking ability, by using the Bristol scale, in 31 conventional broiler flocks and in 29 organic broiler flocks distributed across Denmark. In addition, assessment of contact dermatitis, leg abnormalities, scratches and plumage cleanliness, as well as postmortem analysis of tibial dyschondroplasia, was performed in conventional broilers. The survey found a prevalence of 77.4 per cent of impaired walking ability (gait score (GS) >0) in conventional broilers and 38.1 per cent in organic broilers. The prevalence of severe lameness (GS >2) was 5.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent for conventional and organic broilers, respectively. The prevalence of tibial dyschondroplasia in conventional broilers was 4.7 per cent. The results on other welfare indicators are also presented for conventional broilers. The results from the present and previous surveys indicate that the prevalence of impaired walking ability in broiler chickens in the Danish conventional production system is high, but the severity has been steadily decreasing over the last 19 years. Furthermore, the results from the survey of organic broilers suggest that lameness is less prevalent and severe in this system relative to conventional production.
本研究旨在调查和报告丹麦常规和有机生产体系中肉鸡的行走能力。为此，作者使用布里斯托量表评估了 31 个常规肉鸡群和 29 个分布在丹麦各地的有机肉鸡群的行走能力。此外，还对常规肉鸡进行了接触性皮炎、腿部畸形、划痕和羽毛清洁度的评估，以及对胫骨软骨发育不良的剖检分析。调查发现，常规肉鸡中行走能力受损（步态评分（GS）>0）的患病率为 77.4%，而有机肉鸡中为 38.1%。严重跛行（GS>2）的患病率分别为 5.5%和 2.5%，常规和有机肉鸡的胫骨软骨发育不良患病率分别为 4.7%。还为常规肉鸡提供了其他福利指标的结果。本研究和以前的调查结果表明，丹麦常规生产体系中肉鸡行走能力受损的患病率很高，但严重程度在过去 19 年中一直在稳步下降。此外，有机肉鸡的调查结果表明，与常规生产相比，该体系中的跛行患病率较低且严重程度较轻。
