Organic eggs
Organically farmed hens must have access to both a barn and an outdoor area. Barns may hold a maximum of 6 hens per m2 of usable area, and there must be at least 18 cm of perch space per hen. In the barn, the hens must also have to have daylight and access to nests.
The barn area must account for at least 1/3 of the entire site area and have its floor covered by either straw, wood shavings, sand or peat. Additionally, the hens must also have access to outdoor areas.
The outdoor enclosure must offer at least equivalent to 4 m2 per hen, and most of the soil should be covered in vegetation in order to provide shelter and shade for the birds. Farmers must have more than one enclosure, so that each enclosure can be kept free of hens for at least one year at a time. However, this last requirement does not apply if the total outdoor area is at least 1.5 times larger than the minimum size required to match the number of hens.
Beak trimming is not allowed, and all feed must be organic.
Free range eggs
Free range hens have access an outside enclosure as well as a barn. The barn may hold a maximum of 9 hens per m2 of usable area and must provide at least 15 cm of perch space per hen. No windows are required in free range hen farming barns, but nests are. The foraging area must account for at least 1/3 of the total site area and be covered in either straw, wood shavings, sand or turf.
The outdoor enclosure, which the hens have access to during the day, must offer at least 4 m2 per hen, and the soil should be largely covered by vegetation in the form of trees, shrubs or other kinds of living plants.
Beaktrimming is not allowed; the hens are fed conventional feed.
Barn eggs
Barn hens live indoors, where a maximum of 9 hens are allowed per m2 of usable space. The barn must provide at least 15 cm of perch space per hen. No windows are required, but nests must be provided. The foraging area must be at least 1/3 of the site area and be covered in straw, wood shavings, sand or turf.
Beak trimming is not allowed; the hens are fed conventional feed.
Eggs from enriched cages
In cage egg production, each cage may contain a maximum of 10 hens, and each hen must have 750 cm2 of floor space in the cage. Hens have access to perches, nests and dust bathing. The hens are fed with conventional feed.
In Denmark specifically, The Danish trade association has decided that beak trimming should not be used in enriched cage farming.
