Poor litter management in broiler houses generates ammonia levels that cause chronic respiratory damage and painful eye conditions in millions of chickens — a welfare problem directly linked to management practices.
Ammonia-related welfare harm in broiler houses affects enormous numbers of animals through a mechanism that is entirely preventable with good husbandry. Chronic exposure to elevated ammonia concentrations causes corneal ulceration — painful eye damage that impairs the ability of birds to see food and water, reducing intake and growth as well as causing suffering. Footpad dermatitis from wet litter contact creates burning, painful lesions on the contact surfaces of feet, with the most severe cases involving tissue breakdown and secondary infection. Both conditions are used as welfare indicators in post-mortem carcass monitoring schemes. The irony is that litter quality and ammonia control are manageable through readily available techniques — ventilation management, litter additives, drinker maintenance — that require management attention rather than capital investment.