Litter quality on broiler farms directly affects foot health, skin integrity, and disease burden, making it a key welfare indicator and management priority.
Foot pad dermatitis causes pain that affects broiler locomotion, feed access, and welfare. Severe lesions are associated with reduced movement and increased time spent lying in wet litter, which worsens other integument problems. The root causes - stocking density, ventilation, and drinker management - are entirely within farmer control. Assurance schemes that link foot pad scores to management decisions have been shown to reduce prevalence substantially when enforced.