Laying Hen Perch Access and Bone Health Welfare

Perch access is a critical welfare need for laying hens that improves bone strength, reduces keel bone fractures, and allows expression of natural roosting behavior during the dark period.

Key Facts

Laying hens are strongly motivated to roost on perches at night — a behavior driven by anti-predator instincts
Keel bone fractures affect up to 80% of laying hens in some housing systems and cause chronic pain
Hens with perch access have significantly stronger bones than floor-only housed hens due to increased locomotion
Conventional battery cages prohibited in the EU since 2012 did not provide perches, contributing to bone weakness
Enriched colony cages provide mandatory perches but space constraints limit effective use
Free-range and barn systems with adequate perch space allow full expression of roosting behavior
Keel bone fractures are the most prevalent welfare problem in commercial laying hens globally
Perch design matters — round dowels cause more keel damage than flat or oval profiles during landing

Welfare Considerations

Keel bone fractures represent a major unresolved welfare crisis in laying hen production. The keel bone — the sternum — is where breast muscles attach, and fractures cause chronic pain that is measurable in stress indicators and behavior. Up to 80% of hens in some enriched cage systems have keel fractures, many occurring during collision with perches during roosting. The welfare paradox is that perches are necessary for bone health through exercise, but poorly designed perches cause the fractures that perches should prevent. Perch design research has identified that flat or oval profiles reduce fracture risk compared to cylindrical dowels. The deeper problem is that modern layer genetics have traded bone mineral density for egg production — addressing keel fracture welfare requires engaging with both housing design and breeding objectives.

What You Can Do

Choose eggs certified to standards requiring adequate perches from well-designed systems
Support campaigns for perch design standards that minimize keel bone fracture risk in laying hen housing
Reduce egg consumption or shift to certified higher welfare eggs with documented bone health monitoring
Advocate for inclusion of keel bone fracture rates in mandatory welfare reporting for egg producers
Support research into laying hen genetics that maintain bone strength alongside production performance