Environmental enrichment for broiler chickens provides behavioral opportunities that improve welfare in commercial flocks, and research identifies which enrichments provide the most benefit.
Broiler chicken enrichment addresses the behavioral vacuum of barren commercial housing. Chickens are motivated to perch, scratch, explore, and peck at appropriate substrates. Providing perches, straw bales, and pecking enrichment allows expression of these behaviors, reducing the redirected aggression and inactivity that characterize barren environments. Research confirms that enriched broiler flocks show more positive behavioral states, less injurious pecking, and better leg health from increased activity. The Better Chicken Commitment mandates enrichment alongside slower-growing breeds, recognizing both as necessary components of welfare improvement.