Diagnosis of leg diseases in broiler chickens: A retrospective review1

In the process of feeding, broilers are susceptible to leg diseases, which are often caused by factors such as genetics, bacteria, viruses, the growth environment, and diet management. Treating leg disorders/diseases in broilers is challenging, and once they suffer from such conditions, it generally leads to reduced production performance and affects the quality of meat. It is worth mentioning that with the advancement of intensive management technologies and the accelerated growth rate of broilers, the leg diseases in broilers has increased, resulting in higher culling rates during production. Leg diseases not only cause significant economic losses to the poultry industry, but also severely jeopardize the animal welfare of broilers. Therefore, effective early diagnosis is crucial to mitigate the adverse effects of chicken leg diseases. This article aims to review various diagnostic methods, including clinical diagnosis, autopsy, radiological diagnosis, infrared thermal imagery, biomarkers and emerging diagnostic techniques, to establish a theoretical foundation for the identification or monitoring of leg diseases in poultry industry.