welfare issues for Egg laying hens

It is estimated that over 60% of the world’s eggs are produced in industrial systems, mostly using battery cages, including over three quarters in the EU.

Battery cages

In Europe, a battery cage typically holds 5 hens with a legal space allowance per bird of less than an A4 sheet of paper. The height of the cage is only just enough to allow the hen to stand upright. In the US,the space allowance per hen is even lower.

The cages usually have a sloping wire mesh floor and are kept in rows stacked in several tiers. Each unit holds thousands of hens this way. They are typically kept in closed sheds that are artificially lit and ventilated.

Caged hens may never experience natural light or fresh air and do not leave their cages until they are taken for slaughter.

Enriched cages

The barren battery cage is currently scheduled to be banned in the EU from 01 January 2012. However, the use of ‘enriched’ cages will remain legal. These cages have slightly higher minimum space requirements but this is still less floor area than an A4 sheet of paper. Each cage can house from less than 10 up to 60 or more hens. They have to provide nest boxes, litter, perch space and ‘claw shortening devices.’

Enriched cages provide some improvement but they are still overcrowded and restrict the hen’s movement, preventing natural behaviour.

Brittle bones

Modern commercial hens have been bred to produce very high numbers of eggs. This depletes the hen’s store of calcium and can result in high levels of osteoporosis (brittle bones) and fractures. Restricted movement can also contribute to osteoporosis.

Several tiers of crowded cages make inspection difficult and injured birds may be left to die unnoticed.

Feather pecking

Battery hens often lose a large proportion of their feathers due to damage from the sides of the cage and pecking from other hens. To prevent feather pecking, battery chicks often have part of their beaks cut off, without anaesthetic. De-beaking will become illegal in the UK from January 2011.

Salmonella

Recent surveys have found that caged hens are more likely than free-range hens to be infected with salmonella.

There are alternative methods of egg production that do not require the hen to endure the suffering of cages.