Egg farmers seek national standards for chicken cages

Freshly laid eggs pass by on a conveyer belt overhead as hens peck at their feed at J.S. West Farms in Atwater.   (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)

Laying hens have room to move around at J.S. West Farms in Atwater. The egg producer opposed Proposition 2, which set new requirements for confining the birds, but has found that its hens now have a lower mortality rate and produce more eggs.   (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)

Molting hens are gathered in their own area of an older barn at J.S. West Farms while they shed their feathers, which usually occurs once a year. In a rare alliance, the Humane Society and egg ranchers are lobbying for federal legislation that would set national standards for egg farms similar to those imposed by California’s Proposition 2.  (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)

The cages at J.S. West Farms have floors that are slanted so that eggs gently roll onto conveyor belts that carry them to a processing room where they’re washed, dried and mechanically inserted into cartons -- without ever being touched by a human.  (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)

Terri Guerrero checks packaged eggs for quality by holding them in front of a light and looking for flaws, a task known as candling.   (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)