Chickens are cognitively active animals that experience boredom in barren environments. Enrichment science is revealing how simple interventions can significantly improve their welfare.
Chickens are often underestimated cognitively and socially. Research over the past two decades has established that chickens demonstrate anticipatory behaviour, referential communication, basic numeracy, and responses to the emotional states of chicks that resemble empathy. These findings have profound welfare implications: a cognitively active animal in a barren environment will experience the functional equivalent of boredom and frustration. Simple enrichments — straw bales, pecking objects, natural light, outdoor access — engage chickens' natural behaviour repertoire and measurably improve their welfare state. The cost of these enrichments is often modest relative to the welfare benefit delivered.