For practical and financial reasons, under commercial conditions
no friable litter is provided in many cases, or distribution is
infrequent. In this latter case, litter is often insufficient because
the rapid scattering of litter through the wire mesh during PS and
DB activities makes frequent redistribution necessary, increasing
costs especially when feed is used as litter. As litter is not provided
permanently, pads need to be very attractive to promote DB
and PS in hens on PSA. Previous studies found that artificial turf
matting (AstroTurf®) proposed without litter was preferred to wire
mesh for DB (Alvino et al., 2013) and was also used by hens for PS
(Merrill et al., 2006). However, Guinebretière et al. (2012) showed
that artificial turf mats used in PSA were dirtier than rubber mats
and also difficult to clean, potentially decreasing cage hygiene and
egg safety. Hygiene in furnished cages is a major concern: cleaning
pads in commercial barns is costly and time consuming, without
any guarantee of complete cleaning.