Dustbathing is a fundamental behavioral need in hens that is severely frustrated in caged systems, with significant welfare and physical consequences.
Dustbathing represents one of the clearest examples of a behavioral need - hens deprived of substrate perform vacuum dustbathing on wire floors, demonstrating the intensity of the motivation even without functional benefit. This behavioral frustration is a form of suffering that conventional caged systems impose on billions of hens annually. The social facilitation of dustbathing means that group access to adequate substrate produces collective welfare benefits. Provision of appropriate dustbathing material in cage-free and enriched systems significantly improves hen welfare, but management practices affecting litter quality mean welfare varies substantially between certified and uncertified cage-free systems.