7-12. 出現乾燥與疏鬆的墊料，愈不易出現腳掌病變問題。腳掌的病變會讓雞隻感覺疼痛，這對雞隻動物福祉的管理上較不好。同時也會造成飼養成本增加，因為受傷雞隻的飼料與水攝取量會降低，飼料轉換率及生長率也會跟著下降。 The drier and looser the litter, the less chance there is of sole problems. Sole lesions are painful and therefore bad for the welfare of the birds. They also cost money, because chicks with affected feet seek out less feed and water, grow less and have lower feed conversion rates.