Pros and cons of pen enrichment for broilers

Broilers are often kept in houses where they only have access to litter. Pen enrichments are used in some systems but until recently their actual effect had not been scientifically proven. Wageningen University and Research looked into environmental enrichment and found pros and cons. They stimulated activity but resulted in reduced growth and poorer feed conversion. Poultry farmers rarely use environmental enrichment, especially with conventional broilers, despite its potentially positive ef