Legal requirements

Legal requirements for the husbandry of poultry in Switzerland:

Art. 1 TschV: Animals are to be kept in such a way, that physical functions and behaviour are not being disturbed and the adabtability will not become overstrained. Feeding, caretaking and accommodation are appropriate, if they accord to the needs of the animals on the basis of experience and knowledge of pysiology, behaviour and hygiene.

Prohibition of battery cages since 1991.

Selected minimum statutory requirements for laying hens in Switzerland: 

•     illumination daylight, if possible max. 16 hours, with an intensity of at least 5 lux
•     feeding trough 8 cm/hen
•     drinking: 1 nipple drinker per 15 hens
•     nests: 1 m² per 100 animals
•     perches (or duckboard): 14 cm /hen
•     mesh floor decline: max. 12 %, min. 2 mm
•     stocking density in deep litter systems: 6-7 animals/m²
•     mesh systems: 12,5 animals/m².