Litter quality in broiler chicken housing directly affects foot health, respiratory disease, and overall welfare — poor litter management is a systemic but addressable welfare problem.
Foot pad dermatitis in broiler chickens is painful — lesions on contact surfaces cause discomfort with every step, and birds with severe FPD show altered gait and reluctance to move. The prevalence of FPD in conventional broiler systems represents a welfare failure that is partly structural (high density, inadequate ventilation) and partly manageable. Good litter management is not merely a regulatory compliance exercise — it is a direct determinant of whether billions of birds experience pain from their first days of life. The link between welfare outcome monitoring (FPD scores) and management requirements is one of the most direct legislative welfare tools available in poultry production.