[yldstrk]

What about a hen house? Is there no in between from having them stacked in wire cages to free range? And I do pay extra for free range.

[Smokin' Joe]

My grandparents had a henhouse. They did not have coyotes or cougars to contend with. We found eggs all over their place, even in tobacco barns, and yes, some of them were past their prime...(explosively so).

On commercial operations, wire cages are easier to clean. On a farmstead where you have your own, you don't have the same rules as a commercial operation.

You'd have to talk to someone in the egg/chicken growing business for more info on the rules, but I'm sure if the government is just shy of mandating coffee breaks for laying hens, there are plenty.