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Abstract
1. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of a dielectric measurement to evaluate the prevalence and severity of foot pad dermatitis (FPD) in broiler chickens.
2. The study focussed on surveying the occurrence of FPD during the growing period of one broiler chicken flock. A scoring system consisting of 5 categories was used to assess the prevalence and severity of FPD macroscopically. Additionally, the dielectric constant (DC) of both foot pads of 50 chickens was measured in a triple iteration with the MoistureMeter D (Delfin Technologies, Kuopio, Finland) on three different dates.
3. On all measurement days, DC and FPD score were negatively correlated. The severity of FPD increased during the growing period, and severe lesions occurred at an early stage.
4. Further research is necessary to develop an effective early warning system for FPD in poultry houses. However, the non-invasive measurement of DC provides a reliable method for the objective assessment of occurrence and severity of FPD.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Prof. Dr. Hafez from the Institute of Poultry Diseases of the Free University Berlin (Department of Veterinary Medicine), Germany, for the provision of chickens and turkeys in a pilot test for this study. They also thank the Department of Bioengineering of the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim for analysing the litter samples.