Enrichment for commercially farmed poultry improves welfare by enabling expression of natural behaviours including dustbathing, perching, foraging and exploration, yet remains inadequately provided in most systems.
Poultry in enrichment-deprived environments develop frustration-related behaviours including feather pecking, aggression and stereotypies. Dustbathing is a strong behavioural need that, when thwarted, causes demonstrable distress in experimental settings. Provision of environmental enrichment is one of the most cost-effective welfare interventions available in commercial poultry production, with relatively small investments yielding significant behavioural improvements.