Hen members' info

RSPCA Assured continues to work hard alongside the RSPCA to continually progress hen welfare and provide important information to the public on farming to higher welfare standards. 94% of the UK population consumes some form of animal produce (meat, eggs, fish or dairy), and 83% say they have no plans to remove animal produce from their diets.

That’s why the work we do together with our members is more important than ever; without our collaboration, millions of animals will be farmed to lower welfare standards. But because of the work of RSPCA Assured and our valued members, millions of hens are living better lives. That’s something to be proud of.

In 2025, the final version of the RSPCA welfare standards for laying hens was published. We hope this hub will help our members to understand the changes better and how they impact you.

Natural daylight

We are aware that the updated natural light standard is concerning some members, so we want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand how to implement the new standards. You can find a detailed document summarising the research on the benefits of natural daylight here.

How to calculate the % of natural daylight already provided to your birds

We’ve provided a simple calculation to help you work out if your house would comply with the updated requirement:

The standards require 3% of the total floor area of the house. Please note this is the floor area where the birds are kept (excluding any veranda present). Essentially, if you were to clear the whole house of all furniture, then it’s the total internal floor area of the building.

% natural daylight provision = pophole area / total floor area

Key clarification points

• Free-range members must provide 3% natural daylight to hens at the time of refurbishment cycles or by 1 January 2035*, whichever is sooner.
• When carrying out planned internal refurbishments, free-range members must include the extension of pop holes or light inlets (i.e. windows) within the current structural framework of the house to meet 3% natural daylight.
• From 1 October 2025, free-range members who are building a new house or conducting major structural refurbishments to an existing house must provide 3% natural daylight through windows. This is in addition to the natural daylight provided through pop holes.
• From 1 October 2025, all free-range hens must have access to natural daylight through their pop holes during housing orders (e.g. in the event of AI outbreaks). In order to achieve this, producers could put clear material (e.g. acrylic) over pop holes, rather than closing them, when birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period. If hens are placed before 1st October, members can wait until they depopulate and place the next flock to meet this requirement.
• For barn houses, 3% natural daylight must be provided by windows by 1 May 2032, whilst any newly built barn houses after 1 October 2025 must meet this requirement.

We look forward to supporting our members in achieving these over the coming years. Members who need advice or have any questions about meeting the standard can contact RSPCA Assured’s farming and technical engagement team, who will be happy to help.

*The RSPCA and RSPCA Assured’s driving priority is to support all members in achieving the standard by 2035. If 3% minimum natural daylight cannot be reasonably and realistically achieved through refurbishment by 2035, a five-year derogation will be available for members to apply for - if they can commit to refurbishing to 3% natural daylight by 2040. Any member granted a derogation will be subject to certain conditions.

Additional information about natural daylight openings

Natural daylight openings may have slightly translucent coverings to diffuse light. This may be useful for popholes that are used as light openings to minimise direct streams of light entering the house.

Some natural daylight openings may have rack-and-pinion covers that can be adjusted to manage the light entering the house. In some cases, these may be lowered to manage bright patches of light from entering the house. These covers should still allow a good amount of natural daylight to enter. As a guide, these should not be closed more than 45 degrees.

If there is a housing order and popholes are used to meet the daylight requirements, there may be a period where popholes are covered to reduce the risk of birds smothering when range access is restricted. A gradual opening of the pophole covers should take place to ensure the birds are still provided with natural daylight during a housing order.

Natural daylight openings may be closed if directed by a vet to manage injurious feather pecking, but this must be a last resort.

Working examples for natural daylight

To help you achieve the natural daylight standard, we’ve provided a range of working examples below. These different scenarios and solutions are designed to help you understand how to implement natural daylight across different systems and situations. If you need further advice and support, please contact our Farming and Technical Engagement team.

Scenario 1: internal refurbishment, multi-tier

• Farmer Adam has a 32,000-capacity twin multi-tier shed with 2.8% natural daylight and it remains that way until he refurbishes the shed by replacing the multi-tier system.
• This refurbishment triggers the standard as follows: At refurbishment, he must find a way to increase natural daylight to meet the 3% minimum standard by adding another opportunity for a light opening or finding another place to put a light inlet/non-ranging pophole, e.g. beyond the bird area (most sheds have extra length)

Scenario 2: internal refurbishment, flat deck

• Farmer Brian has a 16,000-capacity flat deck shed with 1.7% natural daylight and, like Adam, it remains that way until his plan to replace his nest boxes or his flat deck system.
• This refurbishment triggers the standard as follows: At refurbishment, he must find a way to increase natural daylight to meet the 3% minimum standard. By putting additional pophole openings along the length of his shed during the refurbishment, he is able to meet the minimum 3% standard. Brian decides to add some non-ranging popholes with clear acrylic (Perspex) to achieve the additional natural daylight.

Scenario 3: major structural refurbishment

• Farmer Christine has a flat deck shed and wants to become a multi-tier producer.
• This refurbishment triggers the standard as follows: To achieve this, she needs to make major structural changes to the whole shed to accommodate the multi-tier system. At refurbishment, she must now fit 3% windows to her shed, and also ensure the quantity of popholes is sufficient to meet 2m per 600 birds for the increased bird number.

Scenario 4: major structural refurbishment

• Farmer Lesley has a 16,000 capacity multi-tier shed and wants to expand the shed to accommodate 32,000 hens. To achieve this, they need to rebuild the outer structure of the shed.
• This refurbishment triggers the standard as follows: As the building work involves changing the external structure of the shed at refurbishment, they must now fit 3% windows to their extended shed.

Scenario 5: new build, multi-tier

• Farmer David currently has beef cattle and wants to expand into laying hens. As such, he is building a brand new 16,000-capacity multi-tier shed.
• This new build triggers the standard as follows: As it is a brand new multi-tier shed, he must fit 3% windows as part of the design.

Scenario 6: new build, flat deck

• Farmer Angela currently wants to start farming laying hens on a small scale, so she builds a new 9,000 capacity flat deck shed.
• This flat deck new build triggers the standard as follows: As it is a brand new shed, she must fit 3% windows as part of the design.

RSPCA definitions used in the scenarios below

An internal refurbishment is defined as: a full system or near full system change, such as the replacement of an existing multi-tier system with a new multi-tier system or any change that results in a system being removed and then returned, e.g. the replacement of nest boxes.

• any change to the system that results in an increase in bird numbers (e.g. the replacement of an existing flat deck system with a multi-tier system).
• the extension of an existing building to incorporate an additional flock.
• An internal refurbishment does not include the replacement of accessories such as drinkers, feeders, perches, or ventilation and lighting systems.

A structural refurbishment is defined as any refurbishment that involves a change to the structure of the building, such as the removal of wall(s) or a change in wall or roof height. It includes any situation where planning permission is required to repair any damage to a building, e.g. when caused by fire, flood or storm damage.

Scenario 7

• Question: A producer has natural daylight in their shed corresponding to over 3.0% of the total floor area. They are not planning any changes to their shed, internally or externally, other than normal/routine maintenance, which may include replacing the feeders or drinkers.
• Answer: The producer does not need to make any changes as they are already meeting the 2025 natural daylight standard requirements. This is assuming that the producer has made provisions for natural daylight to be provided via popholes within the building if birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period for all new flocks placed after 1 October 2025.

Scenario 8

• Question: A producer has natural daylight in their shed corresponding to below 3% of the total floor area. They are not planning any changes to their shed, internally or externally, other than normal/routine maintenance, which may include replacing the feeders or drinkers.
• Answer: By 1 October 2025, natural daylight must be provided via popholes within the building when birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period (in the case of a housing order) for all new flocks placed after this date.
• By 1 January 2035, natural daylight corresponding to at least 3% of the total floor area has to be achieved; this can be met through the popholes, e.g. by extending the popholes.
• If 3% minimum natural daylight cannot be reasonably and realistically achieved through refurbishment by 2035, a five-year exception will be available for members to apply for, if they can commit to refurbishing to 3% natural daylight by 2040. Any member granted an exception will be subject to certain conditions.

Scenario 9

• Question: A producer is replacing their nest boxes, i.e. an internal change in March 2032.
• Answer: This internal change will trigger natural daylight by 3% of the floor area being met through the popholes, e.g. by extending their popholes at the time that the nest boxes are changed. It may be that producers would only have to make small changes to meet the 3% as the existing popholes would count towards the 3% requirement.

Scenario 10

• Question: A producer is replacing their flat deck with a multi-tier, i.e. an internal change in March 2032, and there are no structural changes required to the building.
• Answer: This internal change will trigger natural daylight by 3% of the total floor area being met through the popholes, e.g. extending their popholes at the time that the flat deck is changed.

Scenario 11

• Question: A producer is replacing their flat deck system with a multi-tier system in March 2037, with no structural changes to the building. The house already has natural daylight openings corresponding to 3% of the total floor area of the house.
• Answer: No changes needed to comply with the natural daylight requirement, as the standard, 3% by popholes, has already been achieved.

Scenario 12

• Question: A producer is making some structural changes to the building by extending their existing shed to increase their flock size after 1 October 2025.
• Answer: This change is deemed a ‘major’ structural change and will trigger natural daylight by 3% of the floor area being met by windows, at the time that the extension is being built. This is in addition to the natural daylight provided through the pop holes, i.e. popholes cannot be used to count towards achieving the 3% requirement.
• If the producer has already applied for, or been granted, planning permission and can evidence this occurred prior to 1 October 2025, they can apply for an exception to enable them to continue their planning applications under the 2017 requirements. The overarching requirement to meet the 3% natural daylight by 2035 will remain (e.g. 3% can be achieved through popholes).

Scenario 13

• Question: If a site has 3 sheds and the producer is making a structural change to only one shed, will the first 2 sheds have to comply with the natural daylight requirements via the installation of windows?
• Answer: All sheds must provide natural daylight via all popholes within the building when birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period for all new flocks placed from 1st October 2025.
• The shed undergoing the structural refurbishment will require the installation of windows (if this is built from 1st October 2025) to meet the 3%, as popholes would not count towards the 3% due to the structural changes being made to the building. If the two original sheds are not undergoing a structural refurbishment, these sheds would be required to have natural daylight openings that correspond to at least 3% of the total floor area of the house through popholes by 2035.

Scenario 14

• Question: If a producer is currently building a new shed and it will be completed before 1 October 2025, what natural light requirements are needed?
• Answer: In this example, the shed will be completed prior to 1 October 2025; therefore, the shed will not have to install windows but will have to ensure 3% natural daylight is provided through popholes by 2035.
• All sheds must provide natural daylight via all popholes within the building when birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period for all new flocks placed from 1 October 2025.
• By 1 January 2035, natural daylight corresponding to at least 3% of the total floor area has to be achieved; this can be met through the popholes, e.g. by extending the popholes.
• If 3% minimum natural daylight cannot be reasonably and realistically achieved through refurbishment by 2035, a five-year derogation will be available for members to apply for, if they can commit to refurbishing to 3% natural daylight by 2040. Any member granted a derogation will be subject to certain conditions.

Scenario 15

• Question: If a producer has existing planning permission or submitted plans awaiting approval, but the new shed will not be built until after 1 October 2025, what natural light requirements apply?
• Answer: All sheds must provide natural daylight via popholes within the building when birds need to be housed during the natural daylight period for all new flocks placed from 1 October 2025. Producers who can evidence the below would be able to apply for an exception to enable them to continue their planning applications under the 2017 requirements, i.e. they would not need to add windows as part of their new build if that has not been factored into their plans.
  • An existing written contract with an egg packer is already in place
  • Planning permission has already been submitted to erect the building(s)
  • Significant capital has been invested in the affected building(s) or their infrastructure
• Any members with concerns should contact the RSPCA Farming and Technical Engagement Team at the earliest opportunity to ensure compliance with this standard. This way, we can consider the best way forward on a case-by-case basis.
• It is important to note that if an exception is granted, producers will still have to provide the requirement to meet the 3% natural daylight requirements by 2035. Therefore, it is important that producers consider whether the designs can be adapted to extend popholes to meet the 3% requirement while they are delivering their new build.

Verandas

Verandas are only required for barn buildings, and producers have until 1 May 2030 to meet this requirement.

Free-range buildings are not required to install or retrofit verandas under the new laying hen welfare standards; however, the RSPCA will continue to research practical ways to implement this in the future.

Read the ADAS report with useful information about the RSPCA’s summary of research on verandas for laying hens, with detailed research on the benefits.

Natural cover

The implementation date for the provision of 20% natural cover has been extended for an additional year from 1 May 2026 to 1 May 2027 to allow members two full planting seasons to grow the required trees and shrubs.

However, we are aware that in some regions, it’s difficult to grow trees and shrubs. Members in this situation are encouraged to raise this with our farming and technical engagement team so we can advise on arranging for an independent expert review and provide advice on alternatives that will work for their specific environment.

We will also be providing members with examples of natural cover and helping guide them on how to implement the standard. We’ll develop these with the help of the producer working group.

Providing natural cover on the range area, such as trees and cover crops, has been shown to increase range use by providing hens with a sense of security and creating a more enriching and naturally stimulating environment on the range. Research indicates that increasing natural cover on the range will increase range use and, therefore, reduce the risk of feather pecking as hens are engaging in natural behaviours. Increasing tree cover or cover crops on the range will make the range area less attractive to species that pose a greater risk of Avian influenza, such as waterfowl. Some retailers require 20% of natural cover, and we have positive feedback about the benefits of this for bird range use.

*Increasing natural cover shouldn’t increase the risk of predation from animals such as birds of prey and foxes. The standards require that all producers have a written Wild Animal Control Plan to humanely manage high levels of potentially harmful wild animals (e.g. rodents and birds) to protect the welfare of the flock.

How should natural cover be provided?

1. in the form of existing or newly planted trees/shrubs/other canopy-forming plants,
2. at an area equal to at least 20% of the total range area by 1 May 2027.

The following features of any natural cover provision are important in encouraging ranging:

• Vegetation should provide canopy cover and shade and shelter the hens
• Vegetation should not obscure the view of the rest of the range
• Vegetation should not be so thick as to prevent birds from seeing into it (and to prevent potential predators from being seen)
• To satisfy Standard R 5.1, canopy cover must be provided

Long grasses

Many long grasses are not considered suitable to meet the standard as they do not provide canopy cover. Dense, long grasses may actually prevent birds from ranging as they provide good cover for predators such as foxes. In addition, there may be issues around bird health and management to consider, such as an increased risk of worm burden, crop impaction and egg laying outside. N.B. Corridors or strips of long grass may encourage birds to enter the range and can provide enrichment by increasing foraging opportunities. Strips of long grass may, therefore, be used to satisfy Standard R 5.2, requiring outdoor forage provision, but if they do not offer overhead shelter, they cannot satisfy Standard R 5.1.

Choosing trees, shrubs and crops for canopy cover

Cover should be planted as close as possible to the pop holes to encourage birds to range. As close as 5 meters is recommended, although this will depend on your site. Variety is important, and planting a range of trees, shrubs and/or crops on your range will provide added interest and enrichment for the birds.

• Trees: Birch, alder, rowan and willow are all fast-growing, hardy trees that will perform well in poor soils and exposed conditions. Rowan and Birch provide a light canopy cover that will not require pruning. A light canopy will allow other plants to grow at ground level, providing additional enrichment for hens. 
• Shrubs: Hawthorn, elder and dogwood provide fast-growing, hardy cover. Hawthorn does not have a large root system, which may make it suitable for less permanent sites. 
• Crops: There is a wealth of useful information regarding game cover crops that can help you decide which crops might be suitable for your site. Perennial chicory, kale and dwarf sorghum have characteristics which may be considered suitable to satisfy the standard whilst remaining practical. Look for crops that stand well through winter, provide a good canopy and don’t grow too densely.