Free-range hens with genuine outdoor access benefit from natural behaviour opportunities, though range quality and usage rate vary enormously between farms.
Outdoor access provides welfare benefits through foraging, dustbathing, exploration, and exercise, but only if hens actually use the range. Shy or subordinate hens in large flocks may never venture outdoors. Range quality matters — bare, exposed land with no cover or shade is less used and provides fewer welfare benefits. Trees, shrubs, and pop holes distributed around the range encourage outdoor usage. Indoor enrichment within the shed also determines overall welfare regardless of range availability.