Enriched cages replaced conventional battery cages across the EU in 2012, providing hens with more space and some facilities for natural behaviours — but evidence suggests they still fall substantially short of meeting hen welfare needs.
Enriched cages represent an improvement on conventional systems but the welfare gains are modest. Hens remain unable to express full wing-flapping and dust-bathing behaviour, both of which are highly motivated and whose frustration causes chronic stress. The nesting box provision reduces frustration at egg-laying but the design often does not meet hen preferences. Bone strength remains poorer than in systems with greater movement opportunity. Hens at the end of a laying cycle in enriched cages show signs of skeletal deterioration, chronic fear and compromised immune function. The scientific consensus is that cage-free systems, when well-managed, provide substantially better welfare across most measured indicators.