The egg industry is one of the most studied in terms of animal welfare, with clear scientific evidence about the welfare impacts of different production systems.
The laying hen welfare challenge encompasses multiple simultaneous welfare failures in conventional production. Battery and enriched cage systems prevent core natural behaviours. Bone disease from calcium depletion for eggshell production causes fractures and pain in the majority of hens. Beak trimming causes acute and potentially chronic pain. The killing of male chicks at hatch is a welfare impact of enormous scale that is completely invisible to consumers. Even in cage-free systems, welfare depends heavily on management quality, with crowded poorly managed floor systems potentially causing worse welfare outcomes than well-managed enriched cages. Consumer choices drive investment in improved systems.