Bone quality and leg weakness in meat-type chickens

Abstract

Meat-type fowl is often affected by weakness and each kind of disorder (lameness, abnormal angulation of the limb, bone abnormalities) has to be identified before further investigations. Several studies demonstrate that genetic components are very important in the pathogenesis of disease such as tibial dyschondroplasia or varus-valgus angulation and that large improvements can be obtained by genetic selection against those disorders.

Poor bone quality is widespread among fast-growing fowl and induces a high occurrence of pathological bone deformities, but other tissues are probably involved in the pathogenesis of leg disorders.