Legal requirements

Parameters for the minimum statutory requirements for laying hens (deep litter system) in Germany:

for nine laying hens at least 1 m² usable area
maximum stocking rate of 6000 laying hens per seperated barn unit
edge length of feeding troughs: at least 10 cm/hen
7 hens/nest (35 x 25 cm), group nests: max. 120 laying hens per 1m² nesting area
litter area (at least 1/3rd of the accessible barn area) must be freely available during the light phase, at least 250 cm2/hen
suitable perches without sharp edges must be provided (at least 15 cm length/hen)
access to a winter garden or access to a free range area.