Farm Animal Welfare

Cage-Free Egg Transition Challenges and Solutions

The global transition to cage-free egg production is the largest welfare reform in farm animal history but brings its own challenges. Managing welfare in cage-free systems requires expertise and investment.

Key Facts

Over 1,600 companies have made cage-free egg commitments affecting hundreds of millions of hens
Cage-free barns can house 10 to 15 times more hens per square foot than enriched cages
Feather pecking and mortality can be higher in cage-free systems without good management
Key welfare requirements include perches, nesting boxes, litter substrate, and appropriate stocking density
Climate-controlled aviary systems represent best-practice cage-free housing

Welfare Considerations

The cage-free transition is transformative but not automatically welfare-improving. Poorly managed cage-free systems can have higher mortality than well-managed enriched cage systems. The welfare benefits of cage-free housing — ability to walk, flap wings, access nestboxes and perches — are genuine and significant, but require active management investment to realize. Transition support and expertise sharing are essential to the movement succeeding.

What You Can Do

Choose eggs from welfare-certified cage-free systems rather than commodity cage-free eggs
Support organizations providing technical assistance to farms transitioning to cage-free systems
Advocate for welfare outcome monitoring requirements alongside cage-free commitments
Reduce total egg consumption or shift to plant-based alternatives as another welfare option