What Kind of Housing Should Egg-Laying Chickens Have?

Whether you are a backyard farmer or own an egg business, the type of housing provided to your chickens affects both their health and egg production. There are a few types of housing, each with pros and cons for keeping egg-laying chickens. After reviewing, you can best decide which kind of housing works best for your flock.

  1. Conventional Cage Housing

    • Under the stress of these conditions, most chickens are killed by the time they are 2 years old.

      Odds are you've seen pictures of warehouses where chickens are kept indoors and packed into small wire cages with about 60 square inches of space per bird. This is not enough room for the chicken to spread its wings or turn around. The goal of this cramped housing is to maximize profit at the expense of the animal's welfare. This practice has recently been brought into question because it favors egg or meat production over quality of life for the chicken.

    Enriched Cage Housing

    • Like other birds, chickens enjoy perching.

      Typically used anywhere from backyard coops to a large farm, this kind of housing provides a larger living space with about 4 square feet per bird. It can come in many shapes and sizes but is always equipped with perches, nesting areas and foraging materials. Attached to most coops is a fenced-in area where the chickens can do what comes naturally to them, including catching bugs, exercising and scratching up the soil.

    Cage-Free Housing

    • Cage-free is a good idea until put into practice.

      Many envision "free-range" chickens roaming about a green countryside; this is not always the case. While it was created with the best intentions for the chicken, it ironically results in decreased egg production and continues unhealthy conditions. The housing need only use the non-cage system and allow chickens access to perches, nest boxes and a means of exiting the building. Most likely, they are still overcrowded in the factory. In Europe and the United Kingdom, their roaming around on the floor has resulted in the chickens picking up bacteria and spreading disease quicker, as the farms cannot easily separate one chicken from another.

    Best Housing

    • If the chickens do not yield enough eggs, more chickens can be bought and housed appropriately.

      Housing for chickens must keep them warm in the winter, cool in the summer and protected from predators at all times. It should include covered water and feeders as well as an outdoor fenced area the chickens can visit daily. The coop must give about 4 square feet per bird, not much more or less. Their housing needs nesting boxes kept just above their eye level for them to lay eggs in. Above all, the chickens' health should never be sacrificed to produce more eggs.