There are three main types of housing systems for egg-laying hens: battery cages, enriched colony housing, and cage-free systems. Battery cages confine 4-7 hens in small wire cages and allow high density stacking but provide little space. Enriched colony housing provides perches, nesting areas, and scratch pads for around 40-80 hens, allowing some natural behaviors. Cage-free systems house hens in large open barns with nesting areas and allow freedom of movement but risk of disease is greater. Nutrition must meet protein, energy, vitamin, and mineral needs that vary by life stage from chick to laying hen.

2. HOUSING
3 kinds of housing in layer chicken
 Battery cage
 Enriched colony
 Cage-free system

3. Battery cage
 Battery cages are a housing system used
for various animal production methods, but
primarily for egg-laying hens.
 A battery cage is a small, barren wire
cage that’s used to house egg-laying hens.
40cm tall 4-7 hens confined to each cage.

4. WHY FARMERS USE BATTERY CAGE
SYSTEM?
 because of primarily designed that achieve
high density, by being stacked on top of
one another. A single egg-producing
factory farm may confine thousands of hens
at a time in these stacked cages.

5. P
Advantages Disadvantages
 increased hygiene
resulting in a much
lower incidence of
diseases in which the
infectious agent is
spread through the
droppings
 small group size
resulting in a low
incidence of social
friction
 ease of management
 absence of litter
problems
 better working
conditions
 a much lower cost of
production.
 lack of physical and
psychological space for the hens
 lack of exercise resulting in a
higher incidence of metabolic
disorders
 lack of nesting opportunities
resulting in severe frustration
for many birds each time an egg
is laid
 lack of dust bathing
opportunities which, although
not a severe disadvantage,
should still be charged to cages
 lack of other behavioural
opportunities which again seem
not to be a severe disadvantage
and which await further
elucidation
 a higher incidence of foot
lesions.

6. Enriched
colony
 The original replacement for barren cages,
giving each hen about 20% more room.
 ‘Enriched’ because the cage includes
features such as a scratch area, perch and
nest box; ‘colony’ because the number of
birds kept in these significantly larger
cages are typically up to 80. Depending on
the size of the unit there are typically
between 40 and 80 birds in each colony.

7. Advantages/Disadvantages
 Enriched colony housing provides the
hens with advantages like nesting
areas where they can lay clean eggs
in a private space. Scratch pads and
privacy areas are amongst the
features that allow the hens to
exhibit some of their natural
behaviours. Like conventional
housing, enriched also provides a
lower carbon footprint on the
environment and minimizes the
chances of aggressive hen behaviour,
like excessive pecking.

8. Cage-free
system
 There is a colony nest box which usually
runs down the center of the house with a
slatted area where the feed and water are
located so the hens then can go into this
nesting area to lay their eggs.
 Unlike battery hens, cage-free hens are
able to walk, spread their wings and lay
their eggs in nests, vital natural
behaviors denied to hens confined in
cages.

9. i
Advantages
Disadvantages
 Barn – and – aviary
raised hens show
improvement in bone
strength, but more
bone breakage occurs
because of increased
activity over hens
raised in cages.
 Increased ability to
forage and dust
bathe.
 Birds raised on the
floor are more likely
to encounter disease
carriers in feces or
dampened litter,
potentially leading
to reduced health.
 Cannibalism and
pecking is greater in
cage-free systems.
 Litter – based
systems have been
shown to have
increased levels of
ammonia, dust, and
bacteria.

10. Nutrition for Layer Chicken
 Chicks require a diet that can provide
the nutrients needed for rapid growth
and feather development. Chicks are
given relatively high levels of energy,
protein and the vitamins and minerals
for the starter period. Once the chicks
are fully feathered their energy
requirements are reduced. Feeding
management for layer pullets aims to
maintain a growth rate that will lead
to the pullet reaching sexual maturity
at the desired age while avoiding
obesity

11. Nutrient Units Starter
0 – 6 wks
Grower
6 – 12 wks
Developer
12 – 15 wks
Pre-Layer
15 wks – Prod.
Protein % Min 20.0 17.50 15.50 16.50
Metabolisable
Energy
Mj/Kg 11.5-12.4 11.5-12.6 11.3-12.4 11.4-12.4
Metabolisable
Energy
Kcal/Kg 2750-2970 2750-3025 2700-2970 2725-2980
Kcal/Lb 1250-1350 1250-1370 1225-1350 1235-1350
Lysine % Min 1.10 0.90 0.66 0.80
Methionine % Min 0.48 0.41 0.32 0.38
Methionine +
Cystine
% Min 0.82 0.71 0.58 0.65
Tryptophan % Min 0.20 0.19 0.18 0.19
Threonine % Min 0.73 0.55 0.52 0.55
Calcium % Min 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.75*
Av Phosphorus % Min 0.45 0.43 0.42 0.40
Sodium % Min 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18
Chloride % Min 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18
Hens at 24 weeks of age
Table 2. Growing period nutrition recommendations
Nutrient Levels For Layer Diets
The aim of layer diets is to optimise egg production (in terms of egg numbers, egg
size or egg mass), provide the nutrition required to safeguard health and maintain
the desired body weight. As with layer pullets, different breeders recommend
different feeding strategies for their birds, including the number of different
diets fed during the laying stage. Calcium is increased for egg shell formation.
Table 3 provides data on typical nutrient levels for layer diets.

12. Nutrients Units 1-32 wks 32-44 wks 44-55 wks > 55 wks
Metabolisable Energy MJ/kg 11.60-11.97 11.41-11.97 11.20-11.97 10.68-11.83
kcal/kg 2770-2860 2725-2860 2675-2860 2550-2825
Crude protein % 19.80 17.50 17.00 16.00
Lysine % 1.02 0.93 0.89 0.83
Methionine % 0.51 0.46 0.41 0.38
Linoleic acid % 1.10 1.60 1.60 1.60
Calcium % 4.40 4.25 4.50 4.75
Av.phosphorous % 0.48 0.40 0.36 0.35
Feed intake increases to 100-105g per day
Table 3. Examples of layer diets (at 100 grams per day intake level)