Inter-rater reliabilities for 21 d and 32 d old ducks
were within a similar range (fair to moderate reliability)
to those reported for the 6-point Bristol gait score
system, popularly used to assess the walking abilities of
broilers (e.g. Kestin et al., 1992; Garner et al., 2002).
Training did not impact inter-rater reliabilities, meaning
that the scorers interpreted and applied the system
in a similar way with very minimal training. This is
a promising result, as the training received by scorers
in the minimally trained groups (those shown only the
rubric) is representative of that available to most new
users of gait score systems. Although it was not tested,
it is likely that inter-rater reliability would have been
higher if scorers had been offered extensive training, or
if the system was evaluated by individuals with previous
experience with gait scoring of birds or of working
with ducks. Importantly, intra-rater reliability of theindicating
that individual scorers were consistently scoring
ducks in the same manner.
scorers was satisfactory for all duck age groups, indicating