Broiler Chicken Lighting Welfare

Lighting programmes in broiler chicken housing profoundly affect sleep, health, activity levels, and overall welfare in ways that cost little to improve.

Key Facts

Conventional broiler systems often use near-continuous lighting to maximise feed intake and growth
Chickens require darkness for normal sleep, with poultry sleeping around 70% of their rest in darkness
The EU minimum of 6 hours darkness per day is considered insufficient by welfare scientists
Higher welfare standards such as Better Chicken Commitment require at least 8 hours darkness
Dim light during rest periods is better than complete darkness-deprivation but still suboptimal
Appropriate light intensity, colour, and spectrum also affect activity and eye health

Welfare Considerations

Near-continuous lighting in broiler houses prevents normal sleep and rest behaviour, causing chronic sleep deprivation across the flock. Sleep deprivation is associated with compromised immune function, increased susceptibility to disease, and reduced ability to cope with environmental stressors. Lighting also affects foraging behaviour, social interactions, and eye health. Simple changes to lighting programmes - more darkness hours, better spectrum - represent high-impact, low-cost welfare improvements that the industry can implement immediately.

What You Can Do

Support the Better Chicken Commitment which requires improved lighting standards
Choose chicken certified to higher welfare standards that specify lighting programmes
Advocate for regulatory revision of minimum lighting requirements in broiler production
Ask food companies about their poultry supplier lighting policies
Support research into optimal lighting design for broiler welfare