Environmental enrichment including straw bales and elevated platforms significantly improves broiler chicken welfare by enabling natural behaviours and reducing the sedentary behaviour associated with fast-growing breeds.
Broiler chickens in standard intensive environments show high rates of sedentary behaviour linked to lameness, cardiovascular disease, and reduced welfare. Provision of straw bales as foraging and exploration enrichment significantly increases activity and reduces time spent sitting on wet litter — a primary cause of hock burn and foot pad dermatitis. Elevated resting platforms allow expression of resting preferences and improve leg muscle condition. These simple, low-cost interventions deliver measurable welfare improvements. Their inclusion in higher-welfare certification standards demonstrates that welfare-positive enrichment is commercially achievable.