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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1442580
This article is part of the Research Topic Reviews in Animal Welfare View all 11 articles

The Cage-Free Egg Sector: Perspectives of Indian Poultry Producers

Provisionally accepted
JAYDIP ROKADE JAYDIP ROKADE 1*Abhijeet Champati Abhijeet Champati 1*Nagesh Sonale Nagesh Sonale 1Prasad Wadajkar Prasad Wadajkar 1*Monika Madheswaran Monika Madheswaran 2Darshana Bhaisare Darshana Bhaisare 3*Ashok K. Tiwari Ashok K. Tiwari 1*
  • 1 Central Avian Research Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Izatnagar, India
  • 2 Indian Agricultural Research Institute (Jharkhand), Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India
  • 3 Nagpur Veterinary College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    India is ranked as the 2nd largest egg producer in the world. Despite the prevalence of backyard poultryies (free range), a majority of the commercial egg-laying hens in the country are still housed in battery cages. There is a global shift towards cage-free eggs, due to regulations and increased demand from conscious consumers and food corporations. However, there are very few commercial cage-free facilities in India to meet this demand. The aim of this study was to undertake a needs-assessment survey of Indian egg producers on cage-free production, and understand what support is needed to build the capacities of the cage-free egg production sector to develop it into a viable and sustainable alternative to battery cage eggs. The results showed that nearly all producers agreed on the need for additional support in shifting to, and operating in, the cage-free sector. This included support in the form of financial assistance, technical training, and promotion of the cage-free sector. The results of this study highlight the pressing need for government and private support, in the absence of which cage-free producers are compelled to compete with battery cage poultry producers on prices, which will result in increased losses and failure of the sector, since they have not yet achieved economies of scale.Animal welfare, cage-free eggs, poultry, chickens, hens, eggs, farmers, India 5. If an egg farmer decided to use a cage-free system, would they need more support in the establishment or maintenance of the farm than is currently available? (Yes/No) 6. What support would they need? (Open-ended) 7. Who should offer that support? (Open-ended) 8. What are the main operational challenges in running your cage-free farm? (Open-ended

    Keywords: Cage free, Egg, welfare, layer, chicken

    Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 ROKADE, Champati, Sonale, Wadajkar, Madheswaran, Bhaisare and Tiwari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    JAYDIP ROKADE, Central Avian Research Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Izatnagar, India
    Abhijeet Champati, Central Avian Research Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Izatnagar, India
    Prasad Wadajkar, Central Avian Research Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Izatnagar, India
    Darshana Bhaisare, Nagpur Veterinary College, Nagpur, 124001, Maharashtra, India
    Ashok K. Tiwari, Central Avian Research Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Izatnagar, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.