Perching is a fundamental laying hen behavioral need with both welfare and health implications, and perch design significantly affects both behavioral expression and injury risk.
Perching behavior is not a preference but a biological need for laying hens — the nocturnal drive to roost on an elevated surface reflects millions of years of evolution as ground-nesting birds with aerial predators. Battery cage systems that prevent perching cause welfare harm through behavioral deprivation that hens cannot habituate to or overcome. The transition to perch-equipped housing addresses this need but creates a secondary welfare challenge: inappropriate perch design contributes to the keel bone fracture epidemic affecting a majority of hens in cage-free systems. Solving perching welfare requires both access to perches and careful design that minimizes injury risk — these are not competing goals but integrated design challenges.