Chicken Perch Use and Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Providing perches for laying hens enables the expression of a natural roosting drive that is strongly motivated, with perch provision associated with improved leg bone strength and reduced fearfulness.

Key Facts

Wild and free-range hens roost off the ground each night — a strongly motivated innate behavior
Hens in cage systems cannot perch and show behavioral indicators of this unsatisfied drive
Keel bone fractures are reduced in hens with access to perches that strengthen leg and chest muscles
Fearfulness measures are lower in hens with perch experience suggesting positive welfare effects
Enriched cage systems that include perches show better welfare outcomes on multiple dimensions than those without

Welfare Considerations

Perch access addresses a behavioral motivation in laying hens that is as strong as dustbathing and nesting — the drive to roost off the ground each night. Hens denied perches show frustration behaviors and have weaker bones from reduced weight-bearing exercise. The provision of perches within cage-free or enriched housing systems represents a welfare improvement that scales to the hundreds of billions of laying hens worldwide. It is a structural welfare improvement with measurable outcomes on bone health, behavior, and fearfulness.

What You Can Do

Choose eggs from systems certified as providing accessible perch space
Support regulations requiring perch provision in all non-cage laying hen housing
Advocate for perch space standards that enable simultaneous use by the whole flock
Raise awareness about perch provision as a welfare requirement rather than optional enrichment
Donate to laying hen welfare research on optimal perch design and placement