Trade-Offs of Transition
Transitioning Canada’s egg industry from conventional cages to alternative housing systems doesn't just have welfare trade-offs to consider, it also has economic and environmental trade-offs.
Economics of Transition
The transition from conventional to alternative housing systems has substantial upfront and long-term costs for farmers. First farmers must choose to either adapt old barns to meet new regulations or build a new barn when adaption is not feasible. Then, once operational, alternative housing systems cost more to run than conventional cages (Matthews & Sumner, 2015).
Costs to Consider
Upfront cost to build an alternative housing system
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Commercial egg production facilities are large, long-term investments that are not designed to have a flexible layout. This makes them difficult and expensive to reconfigure to meet updated regulations.
Increased feed consumption in alternative systems, especially in cage-free
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More movement = more energy expenditure
Increased cost to rear a pullet (young hen) in an alternative system (read more)​
Loss of income while building/upgrading barns
Increased labour requirements
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Cage-free systems require the collection of floor eggs
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Hens are more dispersed in cage-free. This makes it harder to find and assess hens that need care.
Higher loss of product
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More floor eggs in cage-free systems = more dirty, uncollectable, or unmarketable eggs
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Higher mortality rates in cage-free systems.
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Productivity over the laying cycle is consistently higher in enriched alternative systems in comparison to cage-free alternative systems (Van Stavveren et al., 2018)(Widowski et al., 2013).
This financial burden is shared by both farmers and consumers, as higher operating costs are reflected in egg prices at the grocery store. The price of eggs is already the main deterrent for consumers when choosing which eggs to purchase, while animal welfare is a minor deterrent (Ochs et al,. 2018)(Cao et al., 2021)(Bejaei et al., 2015). With higher prices associated with cage-free eggs, enriched cage systems could better meet the lower willingness to pay for many consumers.
Good News, Canada’s Production System Supports Transition
Canada’s “Supply Management” approach to agricultural products (i.e. eggs, poultry, and dairy) helps mitigate the cost impact of housing transition (Pelletier et al,. 2018). Canada’s agricultural market has regulations that manages supply and stabilize product prices. This system is built on three pillars:
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Production discipline helps balance supply and demand, supporting stable markets and prices
Pricing mechanisms ensures farmers receive prices that support a fair and reasonable market return
Through import controls, the Canadian market has a stable and predictable level of imports.
Result
This system creates a supportive economic background for transition by stabilizing prices and income when production is facing disruptions or market volatility due to things like avian flu, or, more relevant, infrastructure transition. The market stability provides financial security for farmers, which enables them to more confidently invest in changes that improve practices at their farm (Pelletier et al,. 2018).
Environmental Impacts of Transition
Global food systems contribute to roughly 1/3 of the world’s anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions (Crippa et al., 2021) with livestock as a major contributor (Marques et al., 2020). Industrial egg production is a growing livestock sector (Abín et al., 2018) and while the industry has made significant advancements towards reduced environmental impacts, the transition to alternative housing systems means a transition to systems with a higher overall environmental impact than conventional systems (Turner et al., 2022a).
Barn Environment & Air Quality
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Why is air quality worse in cage-free?
Manure management and system design are at the core of air quality management.
Cage-free systems are more often found to have concentrations of ammonia, air-borne bacteria and fungi, and dust that are higher than what is considered safe for both worker and hen health (David et al., 2015b)(Zhao et al., 2015​)(Nimmermark et al., 2009) (Xin et al., 2011).
Air Quality = Frequency of manure removal + Interactions with litter
Source of ammonia, bacteria, endotoxins, and dust (St-Germain et al., 2024)
Primary source of dust
Manure Management
Enriched and multi-tier free-run housing systems often use manure belts and/or scrappers, as they work well with the housing design and require less labour to remove manure from the environment.
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Result: These systems can remove manure more frequently and have better air quality.
Sources: (Turner et al., 2022a)(Van Stavveren et al., 2018) (David et al., 2015b)(Zhao et al., 2015) (Xin et al., 2011)(St-Germain et al., 2024)
Impacts of Litter
Cage-free housing systems are required to have a certain amount of litter (sawdust, feathers, straw, etc) present for foraging and dustbathing. Manure often accumulates in the litter or is sometimes the only litter substrate provided (Van Stavveren et al., 2018). This puts hens with access to litter at a higher contact rate with manure than hens without access.
Quantity of airborne dust is determined by:
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​The amount of access hens have to litter
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The activity level of the hens in the litter
How to Improve Air Quality
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Increase frequency of manure removal
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Store manure in a separate building than the housing system
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Regularly refresh and change out litter substrate
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Litter quality
Impacts Felt Beyond the Barn:
How does hen feed contribute to the industry’s overall environmental impact?
2 Factors to Consider
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How much feed is consumed?
(quantity of feed)
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What are hens fed?
(feed composition)
The amount and type of nutrients in hens feed can affect the amount of emissions manure produces. Reduced emissions for ammonia and nitrogen have been achieved through changes like:
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Reducing the amount of crude protein
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Adjusting what time of day calcium and protein are provided in feed to align when they are best digested.
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This also improves feed efficiency as hens need less total feed to produce the same quality of eggs ​
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(Hwang et al., 2025) (Horváth et al., 2024)(Jahan et al., 2024)​
The more feed a hen consumes, the more manure they produce. How this manure is managed determines how much impact it has on the surrounding environment.
Free-Range Hens & Feed
All alternative systems, except for free-range, have seen a decrease in the amount of feed they require to maintain egg productivity. Free-range continues to have the highest feed requirements and was shown to have increased feed quantity between data collections in 2012 and 2019 (Turner et al., 2022a).
Impact
The two major nutrients found in manure, Phosphorous and Nitrogen, can pose environmental risk due to their role in eutrophication and acidification of water bodies (Xin et al,. 2011). Manure also emits the greenhouse gas methane.
What's Next?
Canada can continue to reduce the egg industry’s environmental impact by:
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Increasing resource use efficiency
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Improving management techniques
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Improving hen genetics, health, and nutrition