Darrin Karcher, layer housing study

When California voters in 2008 passed Proposition 2 requiring more room for housing layer hens, it seems there was no science behind it and very little thought given to the long-term ramifications of the legislation. Now, California’s chickens have come home to roost, as it were, in the form of shortages and outrageous egg prices.A new study of commercial scale layer housing alternatives may allow future decision-making to be done in a more systematic fashion.Poultry Extension Specialist Dr. Darrin Karcher of Michigan State University was one of the researchers involved in the study.