Effect of lameness on feeding behaviour of broilers

Abstract

Leg weakness reduces the amount of time broilers spend on their feet (Weeks and Kestin, 1994). It has been shown for wild birds that the frequency of visits to a food source relate to the cost of reaching it (Kacelnik, 1984). We recently reported (Weeks and Davies, 1996) that this appeared to apply to lame broilers which fed for approximately twice as long but half as frequently as their mobile contemporaries.