Laying hens have complex behavioral needs including perching, foraging, dustbathing, and nesting. Enriched housing systems that meet these needs produce measurably better welfare outcomes.
Laying hen behavioral enrichment has been extensively studied, enabling evidence-based design of better housing systems. The key welfare interventions in order of impact: nest boxes that allow private, secluded pre-laying behavior; perches that meet the strong motivation to roost above ground at night; litter substrate for dustbathing and foraging; and foraging enrichment (hanging vegetables, pecking blocks, scattered grain) to occupy the 4-6 hours of natural foraging time. Well-designed aviary systems with appropriate perch profiles, perch-to-perch distances, and ramp angles allow hens to access all levels safely. The welfare difference between enriched and barren systems is measurable, substantial, and morally significant given the 7 billion hens commercially farmed globally.