Colony or enriched cages represent an intermediate step between battery cages and cage-free systems, offering modest improvements while still significantly restricting laying hen natural behavior.
Colony cages represent genuine improvement over conventional battery cages, but fall well short of allowing hens to express natural behaviors. The space allocation per bird, while larger than battery cages, still prevents normal wing flapping and limits movement. Nest boxes and perches are present but may not be accessible to all birds due to social hierarchy dynamics. The welfare science increasingly supports cage-free systems as a meaningful step forward, though cage-free systems introduce their own challenges including keel bone fractures and behavioral disorders that require active management. Consumer and corporate pressure for cage-free sourcing is driving substantial industry transition.