Litter quality in poultry housing directly affects the welfare of billions of birds. Poor litter management causes contact dermatitis, disease, and respiratory problems. Evidence-based litter management delivers major welfare benefits.
Litter quality is one of the most powerful single determinants of broiler welfare that farm managers can directly control. The relationship is direct and well-documented: wet, caked litter causes contact dermatitis on the skin areas that touch it most — footpads, hocks, and breasts. This dermatitis is painful and its prevalence is measurable at slaughter, providing feedback on welfare conditions during production. The pathways to poor litter quality are understood: leaking drinkers, excessive stocking density, inadequate ventilation, and wet weather conditions. Each has practical management solutions available. The welfare barrier is not knowledge but attention and resource allocation: good litter management requires consistent daily monitoring, prompt response to wet spots, ventilation adjustment as conditions change, and willingness to reduce stocking density when litter quality is compromised. Farms with consistently good litter quality — demonstrated by low footpad dermatitis and hock burn rates at slaughter — have typically made management culture changes that prioritize welfare outcomes as performance indicators alongside mortality and feed conversion.