The ability of laying pullets to negotiate two ramp designs as measured by bird preference and behaviour.

Background: Laying hens are often kept in barn or free-range systems where they must negotiate level changes in the house to access resources. However, collisions and resultant keel fractures are commonplace. Producers sometimes add ramps to make raised areas more accessible but designs vary and very little research has investigated bird preference or behaviour when using different ramp designs, or the effect of ramp design on falls and collisions

Methods: Two ramp designs were studied in an experimental setting-a ramp made of plastic poultry slats (grid ramp, GR) and a ramp made of wooden rungs (ladder ramp, LR).