New insights into the Impact of different Housing Systems on the Welfare of intensively reared Layer

Welfare issues surrounding intensive farming of layer hens have long been a point of contention for producers and consumers of chicken eggs. These concerns centre mainly on whether the production advantages of conventional cage-based systems can justify the lack of environmental enrichment provided to layer hens. These issues came to a head with the 1999 announcement that conventional cages will be prohibited in the EU from 2012 (Sherwin et al., 2010). In the past few years, European producers have been forced to move into new production models to ensure their survival. It has been the responsibility of the scientific community to determine which system is the most humane and to encourage farmers to adopt this model. This review will consider three recent studies that aim to evaluate the impact of conventional and alternative housing systems on layer-hen welfare.