Photos: Cage-free eggs

California’s Proposition 2, approved in 2008, doesn’t explicitly call for the elimination of cramped cages for farm animals. Rather, it prohibits confinement of farm animals that doesn’t allow them to “turn around freely, lie down, stand up or fully extend their limbs.” (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Dec. 28, 2014 4:33 PM PT

To ensure the well-being of California’s 15 million laying hens, consumers will probably have to pay more for the supermarket staple.

In the last six months, San Diego County egg farmer Frank Hilliker has reduced his flock of hens by half and spent $1 million to overhaul his henhouses. Customers are now paying about 50% more for a dozen eggs from Hilliker’s family business at around $3 a carton. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Eight thousand brown and white hens already roam a new 30-by-165-foot stainless-steel aviary at Frank Hilliker’s San Diego County ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A white hen takes flight at Hilliker’s ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A brown hen drinks water at Hilliker’s ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Frank Hilliker said he owns the last remaining egg farm in a formerly agriculturally rich area a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego. Tract homes increasingly encroach on the community. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Hilliker’s ranch in Lakeside, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Wholesale egg prices are expected to rise up to 40% next year. Above, eggs are inspected at Hilliker’s ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jason Sanford, left, uses a suction cup machine to load eggs onto a conveyor belt at Hilliker’s ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jason Sanford uses a suction cup machine to load eggs onto a conveyor belt at Hilliker’s ranch. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The average wholesale cost of a dozen large eggs hit a peak of $2 on Thanksgiving Day -- doubling in price from the start of November before settling this week to about $1.40. Above, a dozen of Hilliker’s eggs. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)