Perch design in laying hen housing significantly affects foot health, keel bone integrity, and behavioural expression, making it a key welfare engineering challenge in modern cage-free egg production.
Perch design appears to be a minor technical detail but has substantial welfare consequences for laying hens. Poorly designed perches cause foot lesions from pressure points, contribute to keel bone fractures through poor landing geometry, and create social welfare problems when inadequate space excludes lower-ranking birds from resting. Welfare science has produced clear guidance on optimal perch dimensions, materials, positioning, and density, but implementation across the industry is inconsistent. As cage-free housing expands globally, getting perch design right across billions of birds will have a meaningful impact on the welfare outcomes that cage-free transitions actually deliver.