How to measure locomotor activity in "lazy" chickens?

Dorothée Bizeray (Nouzilly, France).
The lack of physical exercise in meat-type chickens combined with the high growth rate has enormous effects on their development and causes poor skeletal quality. The high incidence of resulting leg problems causes commercial production losses and considerable animal welfare problems.
Some studies have shown that increasing locomotion in meat-type chickens can improve bone quality. In this study The Observer was used to find out whether chickens are genetically predisposed to low locomotor activity, because of the genetic selection for higher growth rate.

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