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Production systems that raise cage-free laying hens -which live loose in barns with or without access to an outdoor area- allow the birds to express natural behaviors in accordance with the animal welfare principles. These commercial-scale systems have expanded quickly in the last decade not only in Brazil, but also in Latin America, bringing new knowledge on this topic, challenges and breaking taboos.
Are birds more susceptible to fractures in cage-free systems?
Is productivity lower in these types of systems?
Is there a higher mortality rate with increasing cannibalism among birds?
Are there more pests and predators in these systems?
Is the quality and innocuousness of the eggs lower due to a greater contact with the droppings of the birds?
If the birds are healthy within a hygienically favorable environment and productivity rates are good, can that be considered animal welfare (even when using cages)?
In 2005, Dr. Rosangela Poletto joined the Certified Humane program as an animal welfare auditor for several animal species. And, since 2010, as a PhD in Farm Animal Behavior and Welfare, she keeps a close look at the commercial activity of cage-free eggs.
This is what she had to say about it:
Arguments about mortality caused in cage-free system by:
fractures and
bacterial or parasitic infections
cannibalism
Are raised by those who have yet to better evolve in their knowledge and practical learning in the management of laying hens reared in alternative systems.
In 2021, a study published by the renowned journal Scientific Reports analyzed data obtained from 6,040 flocks of hens (176 million birds) raised both in cage and cage-free type systems in 16 countries.
This study revealed that unlike what may be observed in conventional cage type systems bird mortality is reduced on average from 0.35% to 0.65% each year that producers acquire more experience with the cage-free system.
And over the last few years, there has been no difference in mortality rate between cage and cage-free type systems, contradicting the notion that a higher mortality rate is inherent to cage-free hen production.
It also reinforces the importance of considering how mature the system is in terms of the technical-practical knowledge of those involved in the production and their abilities to evaluate and manage all handling procedures, as well as the nutritional, health, and behavioral indicators that provide animal welfare.
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