Improving hen welfare on cage-free egg farms in Asia: Egg producers' perspectives.

There is a trend towards the adoption of cage-free housing systems in the egg industry across Asia. While cage-free housing systems can hold significant animal welfare advantages over cages, there can also be challenges in managing these systems. This exploratory study aimed to investigate the perspectives of egg producers on the main challenges and proposed solutions associated with cage-free systems in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Cage egg producers' perspectives on the adoption of cage-free systems in China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Asia is responsible for ~60% of global egg production. As in most of the world, nearly all of the egg-laying hens are housed in cages. While there is growing demand for cage-free eggs in many regions of the world, challenges have been reported when transitioning to these systems, which may affect the willingness of producers to transition.