Despite EU bans on conventional battery cages for laying hens, millions of hens worldwide remain in systems that prevent natural behaviour.
Conventional battery cages prevent wing spreading, nesting, perching, and dustbathing. Hens cannot express species-specific behaviours critical to their wellbeing. Enriched cages allow some perching and nesting but space remains severely limited. Cage-free systems offer more space but may increase injurious pecking and disease if poorly managed. The transition to genuine high welfare systems requires space, enrichment, and breed selection combined.