Freeing the hens: Workshop outcomes for applying ethology to the development of cage-free housing systems in the commercial egg industry

Bas Rodenburg, Mona Giersberg, Paul Petersan, Sara Shields*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Throughout the world, most laying hens producing eggs for human consumption are still kept in small, wire
battery cages. Ethologists have well documented the behavioural needs of hens, and the way that battery cage
confinement thwarts highly motivated behaviour and reduces hens’ quality of life. While cage-free alternatives
are now being used around the world, the more challenging management in these systems has contributed to the
slower than desired uptake that would be necessary for improving hens’ welfare. As part of the 2021 Interna-
tional Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) virtual conference, a workshop was held with the aim to identify
solutions to the common challenges. Attendees were given information about cage-free production and then
sectioned into breakout groups for discussion. Following the workshop, they were asked to participate in a short
survey. Breakout sessions included the topics of stakeholder engagement and further research needs, as well as
identification of solutions to the common challenges. Across the two days of the workshop, there were 80
participants, from 27 countries, mostly ethologists (both students and non-students), but including egg pro-
ducers, and representatives from government and non-governmental (NGO) organizations. Of the 80 partici-
pants, 35 completed the survey. Participants generated many insightful and practical ideas in both the breakout
rooms and in the survey, but one particularly salient theme was that solutions already exist and what is needed is
greater education and dissemination of technical knowledge (half of survey responses from participants in the
developed world and 42% of ethologist’s responses fit within the theme of established producers assisting new
producers or producer education and training). This was further evidenced by the noted success of cage-free
producers in a variety of different geographic areas, climates, production scales and in both developed and
developing regions. It was concluded that cross-sector collaboration will be necessary to speed up the transition
to cage-free housing, with roles to play by the producers’ egg buying customers (retailers), end consumers,
government and NGOs, and researchers. There are multiple paths forward, with many different approaches
possible simultaneously, and the potential to free many more hens from their cages is promising.
Original languageEnglish
Article number105629
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalApplied Animal Behaviour Science
Volume251
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

  • Cage-free eggs
  • Hen welfare
  • ISAE
  • Science communication
  • Stakeholder

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