The industry-wide shift from conventional battery cages to cage-free systems brings major welfare improvements but also introduces new welfare challenges that require careful management to realise the full potential benefit.
The cage-free transition represents the most significant shift in commercial egg production welfare in decades, but the welfare benefits are not automatic. The transition from cage to cage-free removes some of the most egregious welfare restrictions — the inability to move, spread wings, or perform natural behaviours — but introduces new challenges from group dynamics, disease management, and complex multi-level environments. The key insight from welfare science is that cage-free systems have higher welfare ceiling and higher welfare floor variance than caged systems: done well they are dramatically better, done poorly they can be comparable or worse. Realising the welfare potential of cage-free production requires investment in breed selection, stockperson training, enrichment provision, and ventilation management — not just the physical transition away from cages.