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THE IMPORTANCE OF PERCHES
Perching is recognized as one of the natural behaviors of avian species.
The importance of perches caused them to be included as a requirement in European regulation.
All laying hens must have access to a minimum of 15 cm perch per hen (Council Directive 199/74/EC).
Nevertheless, among the European countries, only Switzerland has a national requirement for perches for broilers or broiler breeders.
In many countries, perches are used for laying hens but less frequently for breeder pullets or hens.
In the late 80s, several studies indicated that perches during rearing could reduce the incidence of floor laying in broiler breeders.
Brake (1987) reported that breeder pullets reared with perched laid 3.6 % floor eggs compared to 8.6 % in the group without perches in one experiment, and in the second trial, the benefit was smaller by 9.7 % vs 12.6%.
In a commercial trial with grandparents, Appleby et al. (1986) observed that at 30 weeks of age, floor laying was 5 % in breeders that had perches during rearing, while in those that did not have perches, floor eggs reached 11 %.
WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS
Due to welfare considerations, perching or roosting in perches has been reviewed in recent years. Still, other potential benefits in leg and footpad health are also of interest, such as:
Locomotion.
Reduction of aggression during the day.
Feather pecking.
Floor egg laying.
Floor eggs are prone to contamination and, consequently, an additional cause for losses in hatchability and chick quality.
A study conducted by Wolc et al. (2021) concluded that perching and the tendency to lay floor eggs are learned behaviors.
This indicates that the management and training of pullets and young hens are more relevant to controlling this issue.
However, this group also found a significant genetic component, confirming the possibility of improving nesting behavior for cage-free systems through genetic selection.
Studies by Gehardt-Henrich et al. (2018) and Brandes et al. (2020) observed that broiler breeders perched more at night, independent of the genetic line.
Both studies compared fast-growing lines (Ross 308 and Ross 708) with slower growing (Sasso and Ross Ranger).
Breeders of slower-growing strains roost in perches more during the day but have the same perching behavior at night.
Vasdal et al. (2022) also observed that Hubbard JA 757 breed...
