Furnished cages for laying hens were introduced to replace barren battery cages but continue to raise welfare concerns about space allowances and restriction of natural behaviour.
Furnished cages represent a partial welfare improvement over barren battery cages — they provide a nest box, scratching area, and perch — but the space allowance remains so restricted that most natural behaviours cannot be expressed. Hens cannot flap their wings, run, or engage in normal foraging behaviour. Bone fractures from inadequate exercise and osteoporosis remain significant welfare problems. Welfare scientists broadly consider furnished cages inadequate despite their legal status as an improvement, and a growing consensus favours cage-free systems as the minimum acceptable standard.