A caged laying hen gets about 67 square inches of space. She needs a minimum of about 291 just to flap her wings.
That's less room than a sheet of printer paper. Researchers measured what a hen actually needs: about 72 square inches just to stand up straight, 178 to preen, 197 to turn around. In a standard battery cage, she can't really do any of it.
This is what hens often look like when rescuers take them out at the end of their laying life. Feathers worn off. Bones so brittle that sanctuaries keep perches a few inches off the ground so they don't snap a leg hopping down.
Then they get a yard. Within weeks they're scratching and dust bathing like they've done it all their lives. The feathers come back over a few months.
In 2010, fewer than 5% of US laying hens were cage-free. Last year it was 47%. That's the egg industry's own number.
Things are improving, but we shouldn't be satisfied until the practice of caging chickens ends for good.