Environmental complexity in broiler housing — including objects, varying substrates, and structure — significantly improves welfare by enabling natural behavioral expression.
Environmental complexity welfare in broiler production is one of the highest-return welfare interventions available to producers. Adding physical complexity — perches, bales, hanging objects, or varied substrate areas — to otherwise bare houses costs relatively little but produces measurable welfare improvements. Chickens in complex environments are less fearful, more active, and show better leg health from increased exercise on varied surfaces. The barrier is not cost but habit — conventional broiler housing norms prioritize easy cleaning over animal welfare, and changing this requires both evidence advocacy and producer attitude shifts.