The transition from battery cages to cage-free housing for laying hens is underway globally. Understanding welfare outcomes in different cage-free system types guides advocates and consumers.
Cage-free transition represents genuine welfare improvement over battery cages for behavioral welfare, but the welfare outcomes in cage-free systems vary enormously based on system design and management quality. Aviary systems that are overcrowded, poorly ventilated, and inadequately enriched can produce welfare outcomes worse than well-managed cage systems in some dimensions. The welfare case for cage-free is strongest when system design and management create environments where hens actually use perches and nesting boxes, where air quality is maintained, and where stocking density allows adequate movement. Welfare-conscious consumers should look beyond the cage-free label to the specific welfare provisions and management quality.