John Brunnquell runs Egg Innovations, the largest free-range layer operation in the industry. It didn’t come naturally. He grew up on a traditional chicken farm and can substantiate the benefits of caged egg production. However, he’s spent the last two decades perfecting his current operation. He and other industry experts admit that cage-free egg production still has a long way to go. And, it will for a long time.
Source: Washington Post, July 16, 2017 (paywall).
But egg producers caution that the switch is not as simple as just opening those cage doors – and that mobility brings with it a new set of concerns for chickens’ welfare that most farmers have never confronted. A major 2015 study of three different hen-housing systems found that mortality was highest among birds in cage-free aviaries and that they also had more keel bone problems.