Dust bathing is a fundamental behavioural need for laying hens. Providing appropriate substrate and opportunities improves welfare significantly.
Dust bathing is one of the most strongly motivated and frequently frustrated behaviours in laying hens. The behaviour sequence — scratching, bill-raking, vertical wing shaking, and lateral rolling in dry substrate — takes 20-30 minutes and serves important feather maintenance and social functions. Hens in battery cages that perform sham dust bathing on bare wire indicate the strength of this motivation even in the complete absence of substrate. Providing adequate dry substrate — a dedicated area with sand, peat, or similar material — allows full dust bathing behaviour and reduces stress and injurious pecking. The transition to cage-free systems increases dust bathing opportunities but must include adequate substrate provision to realise welfare benefits.