How light management in poultry housing affects broiler chicken welfare and behavior.
Broiler chicken lighting management illustrates how a basic husbandry parameter can have profound welfare implications across billions of animals. The shift from continuous lighting to minimum darkness periods represents a genuine welfare improvement that has been implemented at scale without the production collapse that industry initially predicted. The circadian rhythm disruption caused by continuous lighting imposes welfare costs through sleep deprivation and disrupted natural behavior cycles that the minimum darkness requirement partially addresses. More sophisticated lighting programs that better support natural behavior patterns are technically feasible and represent the next frontier for lighting welfare improvement.