Use of aerial perches and perches on aviary tiers by broiler breeders

Abstract Perching, especially during the night, is an innate behaviour of chickens and the provision of perches is mandatory for laying hens in multiple countries. We examined whether broiler breeders of the fast (Ross 308) and relatively slow (Sasso) growing hybrids used aerial perches (P) and perches on aviary tiers (A) during rearing and production and how it affected welfare and production in comparison to controls without perches. Two hybrids and three treatments (control, aviary, perch) were employed in a cross-factorial arrangement. Control pens consisted of litter, raised slats, group nests, two feeder and one drinker lines. Perch-pens (P) included eight wooden perches in an A-frame configuration at 25, 50, 75, 100 cm above the slats and aviary-pens (A) included four aviary tiers with wooden bars and perches arranged as a platform (70 × 450 cm) at 55, 68, 115, and 138 cm above the slats. Each treatment combination was replicated three times resulting in a total of 18 pens. Welfare parameters of hens were assessed at 45 weeks and production was monitored continuously. Both hybrids used perches increasingly with age and predominantly at night (both tests P