Farm Animals

Enrichment for Laying Hens: Evidence and Implementation

Providing laying hens with appropriate enrichment materials including dust-bathing substrate, perches, and pecking objects significantly improves welfare outcomes while often improving performance and reducing problematic behaviors.

Key Facts

Hens provided with perches show better bone strength and lower keel bone fracture rates
Dust-bathing access eliminates vacuum dust-bathing behavior completely
Pecking blocks and foraging substrates reduce feather pecking by up to 60%
Enriched environments improve immune function and reduce stress hormones in laying hens
EU cage-free requirements include perches, nesting space, and litter as minimum enrichments

Welfare Considerations

Environmental enrichment for laying hens is among the most evidence-based welfare improvements available, with demonstrated benefits across behavioral, physiological, and health dimensions. The combination of perches for resting, litter for dust-bathing and foraging, and nesting boxes for egg laying addresses the most fundamental behavioral needs of hens. Systems providing these enrichments consistently show better welfare outcomes than those without.

What You Can Do

Choose eggs from farms providing minimum enrichment including perches, litter, and nesting boxes
Advocate for enrichment requirements in laying hen welfare legislation
Support research into optimal enrichment provision for commercial laying flocks
Donate to organizations working on cage-free and enriched system welfare improvement
Engage with food businesses about their egg supplier enrichment requirements