The company said construction has started on new cage-free chicken houses in Ohio and Connecticut. Growers will begin placing birds in the new cage-free systems later this year. Hillandale expects the first facility to be completed during the third quarter of 2017 in Hicksville, Ohio, with the second facility in Bozrah, Connecticut, to be completed soon after.
“All future expansion at any of our farms will only be with chickens housed in a cage-free environment,” Gary Bethel, CEO of Hillandale Farms, said in a statement. “As our existing facilities age, they will be replaced with cage-free barns, as well.”
Additionally, Hillandale will implement cage-free systems in pullet houses in Ohio and New England.
Hillandale produces eggs under its own brand and the Eggland’s Best brand. The egg producer offers specialty products such as cage-free white and brown eggs; free-range, organic, non-GMO, Omega 3 and Omega 3 plus lutein.
