Cramped Chicken Cages Are Going Away. What Comes Next?

For the past two years, at an undisclosed location in the Upper Midwest, a large commercial egg farm has been probed with every tool of modern science. Researchers have collected data on feed consumed, eggs produced, rates of chicken death and injury, levels of dust in the air, microbial contamination and dollars spent. Graduate students have been assigned to watch hours of video of the hens in an effort to rate the animals' well-being.

It was all intended to give farmers — and, perhaps, consumers — a clearer picture of different ways to house the chickens that lay our eggs. Three different types of chicken houses exist on this farm: traditional wire cages; "enriched" cages that offer more space, perches and nesting boxes; and cage-free houses in which chickens get to move around freely.

An industry consortium called the Coalition for a Sustainable Egg Supply funded this study, mainly because chicken housing is now controversial. California has banned eggs from chickens that don't have enough space to turn around or flap their wings. Other states are considering similar laws.

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