Leg disorders in modern broiler chickens are among the most serious welfare problems in commercial poultry farming, affecting millions of birds with painful lameness caused by selective breeding for rapid growth.
Broiler leg health is a direct product of breeding decisions. Selecting for maximum growth rate in minimum time has produced birds whose skeletal systems cannot keep pace with their muscular development. The result is a vast population of birds experiencing progressive leg pain across the final weeks of their short lives. Behavioral evidence is compelling: lame birds eat less, drink less, and show avoidance of other birds. When given analgesic-laced feed, lame birds preferentially consume it — a clear signal of pain relief-seeking. The solution is straightforward but commercially inconvenient: slower-growing breeds, appropriate stocking densities, and environmental enrichment (platforms, perches, pecking objects) reduce lameness dramatically. Consumer and retailer pressure has driven faster-growing breed phase-outs in several European markets, demonstrating that change at scale is achievable.