Broiler breeders roosted more on slats than on perches during the laying period

Effect of perch access on perching, health and production outcomes in commercial broiler breeder flocks

“…However, this effect decreased with age and by 45 wk of age, the number of hens perching on the feeder lines was similar between groups. A reduction in perching with age is reported in some previous studies ( Gebhardt-Henrich et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Mens and van Emous, 2022 ), while others report a consistent perch use throughout the production period ( Brandes et al 2020 ; Vasdal et al, 2022b ). In the present study, the number of hens per meter of feeder line in the control group did not change with age and remained constant at around 3 to 4 hens/m perch.…”

“…But even during the dark period, perching in Brandes et al (2020) was still 2.07 birds/m perch. The use of perches by broiler breeders is likely affected by a combination of different factors, including bird factors such as age ( Mens and van Emous, 2022 ), weight ( Kozak et al, 2016 ), hybrid ( Vasdal et al, 2022b ) and early experience, in addition to location of the perches in the house (e.g., Vasdal et al, 2022b ), the lay-out of the perch (e.g., Pickel et al, 2010 ) and the total amount of perch available ( Gebhardt-Henrich et al (2017) . Poultry are prey animals and synchrony of behavior is an important anti-predator strategy.…”

“…Similar results are reported by Brandes et al (2020) with 40% perch utilization by Ross308/708 and Ross Ranger and by Gebhardt-Henrich et al (2017) , who report that more broiler breeders (Ross 308) perched when each bird was offered 14 cm of perch compared to 5 or 10 cm, but perch use was never above 50%. Mens and van Emous (2022) observed perching in broiler breeders and found that most birds perched on the wooden slats, followed by the plastic perches (both were placed 50 cm above the litter). The fact that platforms where the birds cannot grip around the structure appears to be preferred over perches is interesting and warrants further investigation.…”

“…With regards to age, some studies report a decline in perching behavior with increasing age in broiler breeder flocks ( Gebhardt-Henrich et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Mens and van Emous, 2022 ), while others do not report a reduction with age ( Brandes et al 2020 ; Vasdal et al 2022b ). In general, lighter birds perch more than heavier birds both in laying hens ( Kozak et al, 2016 ) and in broiler breeders ( Gebhardt-Henrich et al, 2018 ; Vasdal et al, 2022b ).…”

“…Another aspect is the perching behavior of roosters. Previous studies have only reported on the perching behavior of breeder hens ( Mens and van Emous, 2022 ) or have not specified if the observed perching behaviors include roosters (e.g., Gebhardt-Henrich et al, 2018 ; Brandes et al 2020 ). As regulations generally provide each bird in the flock with a certain allocated perch length, the motivations for roosters to perch is valuable information.…”