Standard European footpad dermatitis scoring system for use in turkey processing plants

Abstract

A standard scoring system for turkeys at slaughter that consists of 5 categories based on the size of the lesion was adopted as the recommended classification scheme for FPD in slaughter plants at a meeting of the WPSA European Poultry Federation Working Party Number 10: Turkeys. Each score of the classification scheme is defined and photographs of a minimal lesion in each category are presented. The numbers of turkeys required for scoring to determine the prevalence of FPD, if the target or expected frequency is 10, 20 or 40% respectively are 150, 250 and 400 birds. Assessment of the consecutive right foot for the required number of birds from the middle load of a specific flock with a minimum of 3 flocks from a given site is recommended. The classification scheme will facilitate comparisons across countries and systems of production and allow rational decisions to be made regarding management changes to decrease the prevalence of FPD in Europe.

The effect of dietary yellow lupine (<i>L. luteus</i> cv. Baryt) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and selected serum parameters of turkeys

“…At 16 weeks of age, 5 samples of fresh excreta per replicate were randomly collected, pooled (7 replicates per dietary treatment) and assayed for DM content. At 112 days of age, all birds were weighed, and footpad dermatitis (FPD) scores were determined according to the method described by Hocking et al (2008). The proposed classification system included 5 categories ranging from 0 to 4.…”

Prevalence and severity of foot pad alterations in German turkey poults during the early rearing phase

“…The foot pad alterations are often covered with crusts consisting of litter and excremental material Mirza, 2011). This made it necessary for the field examination on living turkeys to modify the scoring system for the foot pad condition established by Mayne (2005) and Hocking et al (2008) according to Krautwald-Junghanns et al (2009). The following 5 categories were used to describe foot pad alterations: 0 = no abnormality detected: surface of the skin of the foot pads shows no alterations; 1 = hyperkeratosis: moderate hypertrophy of the plantar skin; reticulate scales are elongated, but not dark colored; 2 = high-grade hyperkeratosis with crusts of dirt: pronounced hypertrophy of the plantar skin; adhesive dirt cannot be removed without damaging the plantar skin; bleeding tendency after manipulation; 3 = superficial lesions, epithelial necrosis: dark-colored necrosis of (elongated) reticulate scales; 4 = profound lesions of the plantar skin, foot abscess, or both: ablation of the outer layer of the epidermis.…”

The effect of diluting diets with ground and pelleted or with whole wheat on the performance of growing turkeys

“…The feed conversion ratio was calculated for each period. At 8 weeks of age and at the termination of the experiment, the excreta dry matter (DM) was analysed and foot-pad dermatitis (FPD) scores were determined according to the method described by Hocking et al (2008).…”