Improving the quality of chicken paws depends on circulating ventilation

The market for chicken feet is CHINA , where there are also strict quality requirements for these products. Pillow dermatitis is not uncommon in industrial broiler chickens, but scientists have found a solution

According to Zoe McMillian, a senior researcher at the University of Maryland, pillow dermatitis causes serious foot problems in broilers, which negatively affects the welfare of birds and the EXPORT supply of the broiler foot market.

“Pillow dermatitis causes painful sores. This is a threat to the welfare of poultry as well as the poultry industry. When the paw pads are damaged, they are not for sale,” McMillan explained to Poultry HEALTH Today.

A recent University of Maryland study with an expert tested whether circulating fans could reduce the severity of paw pad dermatitis in broilers. The results showed that broilers reared with circulating fans had significantly less injury than birds raised without fans.

The study used four broiler houses with 36,000 heads each. Two poultry houses were equipped with 16 powerful circulation fans located in the ceiling. Fans worked even in cold weather in winter. There were no fans in the other two poultry houses.

“Pillow dermatitis is usually caused by moisture and irritants in the bedding. The purpose of the circulating fans is to help dry the litter and keep the temperature and humidity level where we want it to be,” McMillian said.

The scientists then randomly tested 80 broilers in the poultry houses and analyzed their paw health. Each bird was assigned a lesion score: 0, no lesion, 1, moderate, and 2, severe lesion.

The team took the scoring a step further and used a Lumix digital camera to photograph each bird's paw pads and hocks. The photographs were then placed into special software that determined the percentage of lesions in the ball of the foot. This helped the team better determine the severity of the dermatitis.

“We were able to assess the severity of the lesion and get a numerical value for how big it is, like 20% of the ball of the foot. So we got a concrete idea of ​​how serious the problem is for each individual bird. In fanless houses, we have seen birds with a wider range of lesion sizes, ranging from 20% to 30% of the paw pads. And nothing like that in ventilated chicken coops. I think it's a really obvious difference and it's important to consider adding ventilators for paw spawners, especially when the birds are young and cover the litter less,” concluded the expert.