Dustbathing is a fundamental, highly motivated behaviour in hens that is essential for feather maintenance and wellbeing. Its provision is a core indicator of meaningful laying hen welfare.
Dustbathing is one of the most strongly motivated behaviours in laying hens and its frustration causes measurable welfare compromise. The performance of dustbathing is associated with positive emotional states in hens, making its provision not just a matter of preventing negative experience but actively promoting positive welfare. Cage systems that prevent dustbathing entirely represent a significant and ongoing welfare failure for the billions of hens in these systems globally. In cage-free and free-range systems, dustbathing opportunity depends on the quality and accessibility of substrate, which must be appropriate in texture, depth, and availability for all birds in the flock. Ensuring that dustbathing occurs in practice rather than merely being theoretically available in the design is an important distinction in welfare assessment.