Perches are a fundamental welfare requirement for laying hens. Access to appropriate perches improves bone strength, reduces aggression, and enables natural roosting behavior.
The availability and design of perches directly affects laying hen welfare through multiple pathways. Behaviorally, perching satisfies a strong roosting motivation and allows hens to escape aggression from flock mates by ascending to elevated positions. Physiologically, perch use provides exercise that significantly improves bone mineral density — a major factor in keel bone fracture prevention. Keel bone fractures are a leading welfare problem in laying hens: painful, common, and largely invisible without skilled assessment. Good perch design — appropriate diameter, height, and spacing — maximizes use. Poorly designed perches (too slippery, too high, too few) that go unused fail to deliver their welfare benefits. Housing system design must prioritize perch accessibility for all birds, not just the dominant individuals.