A 3-point rubric for gait scoring ducks was used to
evaluate the ducks’ walking abilities. Following Karcher
et al. (2013), a score of “0” (GS0; best gait) was assigned
to ducks that waddled without obvious impediments.
Ducks which deemed to have a labored walk or
slight limp were assigned a score of “1” (GS1; moderate
gait), and those who were reluctant to walk scored a 2
(GS2; poor gait). Duck gait was evaluated as the birds
moved towards the observer as this angle provided the
observer with a clear view of both legs. One of 3 trained
individuals evaluated the gait of the ducks during each
farm visit. The gait of all of the ducks was re-scored
from video by a single experienced observer in order
to confirm inter-observer reliability. Scores assigned by
the experienced observer were in good agreement with
those assigned by 2 of the on-farm scorers, but only in
fair agreement with those of the third on-farm scorer.
All of the ducks scored by this individual were re-scored
a second time from video by our experienced observer.
Intra-rater reliability was found to be high, therefore,
gait scores assigned by the experienced observer were
used for this set of ducks.