Keel bone fractures affect 50-80% of laying hens in cage-free and aviary systems. This welfare problem is one of the most widespread in commercial poultry but receives insufficient attention.
Keel bone fractures represent the most widespread unaddressed welfare problem in commercial laying hen systems. The scale is extraordinary — if 50-80% of 40+ million UK laying hens have fractured keels, tens of millions of individual birds are living with chronic bone pain daily. Fractures cause measurable behavioral changes — reduced perch use, altered movement, and increased fear responses. The causes are architectural: poorly designed aviary perches cause collision injuries during landing; elevated platforms without protective railings lead to fall injuries. Solutions include perch padding, rounded perch profiles, lower tier spacing, and slower-growing hen genetics. Monitoring keel bone fracture rates is now included in advanced welfare certification programs.