Comparison of bone volume and strength as measures of skeletal integrity in caged laying hens with access to perches.

Fractures in spent laying hens are now recognised as a major welfare problem; the objective of this work was to determine whether provision of perches for caged layers would increase bone strength, bone volume or both. Sixteen ISA Brown hens were housed from 18 to 72 weeks old in cages with perches and 16 in similar cages without perches. At the end of lay the birds' tibiotarsi were examined for strength by a three-point loading test and their tarsometatarsi for bone volume by histomorphometry. There was no significant effect of perches on tibiotarsal breaking strength. Hens from both groups showed evidence of osteoporosis, but it was more severe in the birds from conventional cages: tarsometatarsal trabecular bone volume was greater in the hens which had access to perches. A positive correlation was found between trabecular bone volume and the degree of day-time perch usage by individual hens. Provision of perches can have a slight but significant beneficial effect, at least for the leg bones, in increasing the bone volume of caged laying hens.