At the risk of being political. . . for those of us who do not/cannot raise our own chickens:

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the United Egg Producers, will work together to bring sweeping changes to the U.S. egg industry, improving the treatment of the 280 million laying hens used each year in U.S. egg production. There is now a chance of banning barren battery cages and phasing in more humane standards nationwide.

New federal legislation would:
• Stop (at the end of 2011) new construction small, cramped, cages that nearly immobilize more than 90 percent of laying hens today — and eliminate, nationwide, barren battery cages;
• Require perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas so birds can engage in important natural behaviors currently denied to them;
• Prohibit forced molting through starvation in order to manipulate the laying cycle;
• Prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses which is harmful to both hens and egg industry workers;
• Require standards for euthanasia of hens; and
• Prohibit the sale of eggs and egg products nationwide that don’t meet these above requirements.

If enacted, this would be the first federal law relating to chickens used for food, as well as the first federal law relating to the on-farm treatment of any species of farm animal.

The national standards would be coordinated with Proposition 2 (a laying hen welfare initiative passed in California in 2008).

Passing this federal bill would be a historic improvement for hundreds of millions of animals per year. Of course, this legislation requires the support of U.S. senators and representatives.