Farm Animals

Poultry Welfare: Meat Chicken Footpad Health

Footpad dermatitis is a painful condition affecting a significant proportion of commercial broilers, used as a welfare indicator at slaughter in monitoring programmes.

Key Facts

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) affects 20-40% of commercial broilers in some production systems
FPD is caused by prolonged contact with wet, ammoniacal litter causing chemical and physical damage
Litter management, ventilation, and stocking density are primary determinants of FPD prevalence
EU monitoring programmes require FPD scoring at slaughter with farm-level feedback to producers

Welfare Considerations

Footpad dermatitis causes pain and mobility restriction in affected birds throughout their lives. It is a preventable condition that reflects litter management quality, stocking density, and housing design. Using FPD prevalence as a welfare benchmark creates direct financial incentives for prevention.

What You Can Do

Support poultry welfare monitoring programmes that use FPD as an outcome indicator
Advocate for FPD scores to be publicly reported at farm level to enable consumer accountability
Engage with litter management research that reduces FPD prevalence in commercial broiler systems