Perch use in commercial broiler breeders – Preference for perch material and effect of age

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

“…When focusing on the plastic perches, fewer hens were observed on these compared to the feeder perches at all ages (average 1.4 birds vs. 5.3 birds/m perch), and the use of the plastic perch was reduced with age. Previous studies have found that the height of the perch is important ( Brendler et al, 2014 ; Brandes et al, 2020 ; Vasdal et al, 2022b ), and the present results clearly show that the breeder hens preferred the 15 cm high feeder perch compared to the 5 cm high plastic perch. In fact, more hens on the control side perched directly on the steel netting on the feeders (3.6 birds/m perch) than on the plastic perch.…”

“…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.…”

“…When combining the observed number of hens on the plastic and feeder perches, on average 6.7 birds perched per meter perch, which is full capacity (100% perch utilization). Previous papers report far lower numbers for broiler breeders: Vasdal et al (2022b) : 0.44 birds/m perch; Brandes et al (2020) : 40% perch utilization and Gebhardt-Henrich et al (2017) : 50% perch utilization. One difference is that perching in the present study was observed during the dark period, when perching is known to be higher ( Brandes et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The birds showed no preference for perch materials or perch height (35 cm or 95 cm), but Hubbard JA787 pullets perched more than Ross 308 pullets. In another study with commercial broiler breeder flocks (Ross 308, Hubbard JA787 and Ranger Gold) provided with a total of 33 m of perches of metal, wood or plastic, Vasdal et al (2022b) found that perch use during the light period was consistent with age and hybrid, and the highest perch (15 cm) was used more than the 5 cm high perches. However, the average perch use was only 0.44 birds/m perch which is a capacity utilization of less than 10%, given a shoulder width of 15 cm/bird ( Aviagen, 2018 ).…”

“…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 ). As broiler breeders grow heavier with age, it is important to know if their perching behaviour changes throughout the production period.…”