Many countries have banned conventional battery cages for laying hens, but cage-free systems bring their own welfare challenges. Understanding what genuinely improves hen welfare is essential for meaningful reform.
Moving away from battery cages is welfare progress, but it does not guarantee high welfare. Poorly managed cage-free systems can produce equivalent or worse outcomes on some metrics — especially keel bone fractures and feather-pecking. Genuinely improving hen welfare requires addressing stocking density, lighting, air quality, enrichment provision, and stockperson training, not simply changing housing system type. Welfare-conscious consumers and retailers should look beyond the "cage-free" label to system specifics.