The design of transport crates used to move broiler chickens from farm to slaughter significantly affects welfare through impacts on injury rates, thermal stress, crowding, and the physical trauma of loading and unloading operations.
Transport crate design is a foundational welfare determinant for the billions of broilers transported globally each year. Inadequate crate height forces birds into stressed, crouching postures for journeys that can exceed 12 hours. Overcrowded crates prevent normal posture maintenance and increase heat stress. The loading process itself — catching, inverting, and crating — is one of the highest-injury phases in broiler production. Investing in crate designs with adequate headroom, smooth internal surfaces, and appropriate stocking densities delivers measurable welfare improvements at scale. Better-designed crates combined with controlled-atmosphere stunning at the farm before transport represents the welfare gold standard but requires significant industry investment.