Impact of Music as Environmental Enrichment on Chronic Stress and Anxiety-Related Responses in Broiler Chickens.

This study evaluated the effects of classical music as auditory environmental enrichment on chronic stress and anxiety-related responses in broiler chickens. Two hundred Cobb 500 chicks were assigned to a control group (no enrichment) or an enriched group exposed to classical music for 6 h daily from 1 to 40 days of age. At 40 days, affective states were assessed using the attention bias test (ABT), while chronic stress was evaluated through feather corticosterone (CORT) concentrations. Music-exposed birds had significantly lower feather CORT concentrations than controls (p < 0.0001), indicating reduced chronic stress. No significant treatment effects were detected for ABT behavioral measures. However, music-exposed birds showed a numerically longer latency to take the first step (p = 0.055), although this difference did not reach statistical significance. Overall, these findings demonstrate that classical music enrichment can reduce physiological indicators of chronic stress in broilers, while evidence for effects on anxiety-related behavior remains inconclusive. The results suggest that auditory enrichment may help reduce chronic stress in broilers under the conditions evaluated and highlight the need for further replicated studies to clarify its effects on affective states and behavioral responses.