Waddle and shuffle: gait alterations associated with domestication in turkeys
Open accessAbstract
Domestication has altered turkey morphology by artificially selecting for increased muscle mass and breast meat. Artificial selection has resulted in birds that weigh up to three times more than their wild counterparts, with relatively little change in the length of their bones and limbs. Considering these structural changes, it seems probable that domestic turkey locomotor kinematics and kinetics would also be altered. To examine the locomotor dynamics of wild and domestic turkeys we had both strains walk down a runway with a force plate at the center to measure their ground reaction forces and gait parameters. The location of their center of mass was also quantified using a force plate and bi-planar x-ray and found to be further anterior in the domestic strain. The domestic turkeys locomoted across a lower range of speeds (0.25-1.64 ms−1) than the wild turkeys (0.26-3.26 ms−1) and increased their stride frequency at a higher rate. They also displayed large lateral oscillations, i.e. waddling, during walking that translated into relatively high medio-lateral ground reaction forces and lateral kinetic energy (3.5 times higher than wild turkeys). Results indicate that domestic turkey locomotion is not simply a slowed down version of wild turkey locomotion. The changes in gait observed are similar to the shuffling gait present in some human populations, such as Parkinson's patients, which serves to increase stability. The domestic turkey's increased body mass and more anterior center of mass position may require these kinematic and kinetic gait differences.
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This may explain the reduced locomotion ability, including flying, in domesticated poultry.
“This may explain the reduced locomotion ability (including flying) in domesticated poultry (Wang et al. 2017; Stover et al. 2018).”
From Genomic Analyses Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (<i>Numida meleagris</i>) Domestication in West Africa (2021) · cites this paper as Stover et al. 2018
The Concluding remarks (page unavailable) link increased body mass in domestic turkeys to altered gait and a lower speed range than wild turkeys. The paper studies walking, not flying, and does not establish reduced flight ability across domesticated poultry. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Stover, K. K., Brainerd, E. L., & Roberts, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Brown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Roberts, Thomas J.
- Venue
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- Publisher
- The Company of Biologists
- Published
- 2018-01-01
- Volume
- 221
- Issue
- Pt 15
- ISSN
- 0022-0949 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-9145
- PMC
- PMC6104819
- OpenAlex
- W2810604206
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Experimental Biology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (AR055295)
- National Science Foundation (IOS-1354289)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Robotic Locomotion and Control
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Keywords
- gait, locomotion, shuffling gait, center of mass, ground reaction force, cadence, selective breeding, locomotor stability, Parkinson's disease
- MeSH terms
- Domestication, Animals, Biomechanical Phenomena, Body Weight, Female, Gait, Kinetics, Male, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Turkeys, Walking
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