Mortality rates in laying hen flocks are welfare indicators that reveal underlying problems. Understanding common causes enables prevention of avoidable deaths.
Laying hen mortality represents the most extreme welfare outcome — birds that die from painful conditions including egg peritonitis, which causes a slow, uncomfortable death from infection and organ failure, or prolapse, which is intensely painful and often results in pecking-induced trauma from flockmates. Daily mortality monitoring with prompt removal of dead birds is both a welfare requirement and a legal obligation in most jurisdictions. Investigating mortality above threshold rates — rather than accepting it as normal — enables identification of causes that may be addressable through management changes. Nutritional, management, and health interventions can significantly reduce preventable mortality. The welfare commitment to hens requires both preventing deaths and ensuring that dying hens are humanely euthanased rather than left to die slowly.