Poor litter quality generating high ammonia concentrations is a major but preventable welfare problem in broiler chicken production. Understanding the causes and solutions helps drive better industry practice.
Ammonia exposure and the contact dermatitis it causes represent chronic welfare harms affecting the majority of birds in poorly managed systems. Chickens living in high-ammonia environments experience ongoing respiratory irritation and eye pain that they cannot escape. Footpad lesions cause lameness that reduces feed and water access and makes resting on wet litter painful. The relationship is dose-dependent: the worse the litter quality, the greater the welfare impact. Critically, ammonia levels and FPD scores are measurable, auditable welfare outcome indicators that allow objective comparison between farms. Slaughter plant FPD scoring systems — now mandatory in some EU countries — provide objective, farm-level welfare data that drives improvement through supply chain accountability.