Illustration by Dr. Gheorghe Constantinescu.
Production characteristics of modern poultry lines (eg, body weight in broiler chickens, egg production in laying hens) place high demands on the skeletal system, and inadequacies in nutrition or husbandry often result in skeletal diseases. Skeletal disorders can be primarily infectious or noninfectious; both types can occur concurrently within a flock.
Skeletal disorders cause lameness from biomechanical dysfunction and, in broiler chickens, result in poor growth, culled birds, increased mortality rate (caused by starvation and dehydration), and carcass condemnation and downgrading. Bone fractures in spent hens could be a welfare issue.
Before postmortem examination, flocks should be assessed for skeletal disorders. Live, lame birds should be examined, and general flock health and management should be assessed. Serum samples can be collected for viral and mycoplasmal serological testing and/or biochemical evaluation (eg, serum calcium). Gross pathology alone is often insufficient, and histological examination is usually necessary to reach a diagnosis. Bone ash measurement, feed nutritional analysis, and bacteriological evaluation are useful complementary investigations.
