Battery cage

A battery cage is typically a small enclosure with a sloping wire floor and equipment for delivery of feed and water, and for egg collection, mounted on the front. Cages are stacked three, four or five tiers high (sometimes higher), and a typical cage for five hens allows 18" by 20" (45 cm by 50 cm) or 72 sq. inches (450 cm2) per hen.

Hens in a battery cage in bad plumage condition. Photo: Giuseppe Verzolli