**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE US IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST TURKEY PRODUCER, WITH AN ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF OVER 200 MILLION ANIMALS. SKELETAL HEATH AND LEG PROBLEMS ARE MAJOR THREATS TO THE INDUSTRY'S SUSTAINABILITY AND REMAIN TOP WELFARE AND ECONOMIC CONCERNS. THEREFORE, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO IDENTIFY MITIGATION STRATEGIES THROUGH IMPROVED MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, AND THE DEFINITION OF NOVEL TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH LEG HEALTH TO ENABLE GENOMIC SELECTION FOR TURKEY ROBUSTNESS AND WELFARE. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS INTEGRATED PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND GENOMIC APPROACHES FOR REDUCING AND AMELIORATING PAINFUL MOBILITY PROBLEMS IN COMMERCIAL TURKEYS. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO 1) IDENTIFY AGE-RELATED CHANGES AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG BONE BIOLOGY, WALKING ABILITY, BEHAVIOR, AND TURKEY WELFARE, AND HOW THESE FACTORS ARE INFLUENCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT; AND 2) INVESTIGATE THE GENOMIC BACKGROUND OF NOVEL TRAITS RELATED TO TURKEY WELFARE, SKELETAL QUALITY, AND WALKING ABILITY IN COMMERCIAL POPULATIONS. PHENOTYPIC AND GENOMIC DATA WILL BE COLLECTED IN BOTH EXPERIMENTAL AND FIELD CONDITIONS IN 1,864 TURKEYS AND OVER 100,000 GENOMIC MARKERS TO EXAMINE TURKEY WALKING ABILITY, WELFARE, AND SKELETAL QUALITY AND TO IDENTIFY NOVEL TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH LEG HEALTH. THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN MITIGATION ALTERNATIVES TO LEG PROBLEMS, ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING TURKEY WELFARE AND WALKING ABILITY, AND THE DEFINITION OF OPTIMAL INDICATOR TRAITS AND GENOMIC SELECTION APPROACHES TO GENETICALLY IMPROVE SKELETAL QUALITY AND WALKING ABILITY IN TURKEYS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE NIFA-AFRI ANIMAL WELL-BEING PROGRAM AREA PRIORITY OF ADVANCING OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF ANIMAL WELFARE AND SELECTION FOR ROBUSTNESS.