Gait scoring is a validated welfare assessment tool for broiler chickens that provides direct measurement of lameness prevalence — the most significant welfare problem in commercial poultry.
Broiler gait scoring transforms abstract welfare concerns into concrete, measurable data. A farm where 35% of birds at slaughter have gait scores of 3 or above is demonstrably producing 35% of birds in chronic pain — a welfare failure that has nothing to do with accident or disease and everything to do with genetic selection for maximum muscle growth. Breed choice is the primary determinant of gait score outcomes; stocking density and litter quality are secondary. The Better Chicken Commitment's requirement for slower-growing breeds in certified supply chains is essentially a maximum gait score requirement in disguise — selecting genetics that prevent the problem rather than managing its consequences.