Colorado’s government has requested that all eggs sold at the state grocery stores will be from cage-free hens. The Colorado general assembly passed HB20-1343 to advance animal welfare by requiring Colorado’s egg-laying hens to be housed in a cage-free environment.
Also, with this act, the business owners are not allowed to sell or transport for sale in Colorado egg products that are from cage systems.
The act will start on January 1st, 2023. However, the government indicated some modifications during the first two years to give farm owners the time to fully transition to a cage-free environment for their egg-laying hens. Therefore, by January 1st, 2025, all eggs produced and sold in Colorado will need to be cage-free.
“By including enrichments such as scratch areas, perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing, cage-free housing allows hens to exhibit their natural behaviors,” said Julie Mizak, egg program manager at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “Starting next year, egg producers will have two years to phase in these changes into their operations to be compliant.”
The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s supporting rule establishes an inspection and certification process for confirming that farms are cage-free, and outlines a recordkeeping process to affirm eggs sold in Colorado are from a certified farm. There are some exceptions to the requirements, including for farming operations with 3,000 or fewer egg-laying hens.
The act HB20-1343 established enclosure requirements for farm owners or operators producing eggs and egg products sold in Colorado and requires businesses to sell only cage-free eggs starting in 2025.
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