Poultry

Poultry Footpad Dermatitis: A Hidden Welfare Indicator

Footpad dermatitis affects the majority of broiler chickens and provides a reliable, measurable indicator of farm welfare conditions.

Key Facts

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) affects 60-80% of broiler chickens in poorly managed farms
Severe FPD causes painful ulcers that make walking and feeding difficult
FPD is caused primarily by wet, ammonia-laden litter that burns foot tissue
EU monitoring programs track FPD as a mandatory welfare indicator at slaughter
Management changes including litter management and reduced stocking density reduce FPD dramatically

Welfare Considerations

Footpad dermatitis causes chronic pain with each step. Severely affected birds walk less, drink less, and eat less. The lesions bleed and can become infected. FPD is essentially a welfare monitoring tool embedded in the animal: it records the history of conditions experienced by the bird across its lifetime. Slaughterhouse monitoring of FPD prevalence provides data on farm welfare without requiring expensive farm inspections.

What You Can Do

Support mandatory FPD monitoring requirements in poultry welfare standards
Choose Better Chicken Commitment certified poultry with FPD monitoring requirements
Advocate for FPD reduction targets in poultry supply chain contracts
Donate to poultry welfare research organizations developing FPD prevention protocols
Reduce poultry consumption from suppliers with high FPD rates