Cage-free egg production is growing rapidly in response to corporate and legislative commitments, but welfare outcomes in cage-free systems require careful management to achieve their potential.
Cage-free welfare is better than battery cage welfare on average, but highly variable depending on management quality. The most significant welfare problem in cage-free systems is keel bone fractures — breast bone breaks that cause chronic pain and occur when hens fall from elevated perches and nest boxes. This affects the majority of hens in poorly designed systems. Air quality from high ammonia concentrations in crowded cage-free barns causes respiratory disease. Feather pecking injury rates are higher than in well-managed enriched cage systems. Cage-free is better than caged, but the welfare gains are only fully realized with careful system design and management.