Germany: Egg production slightly increased in 2025
Barn eggs remained the dominant farming method, accounting for 57.6% of eggs produced, although this share declined slightly again compared to the previous year (2024: 58.0%). In contrast, the share of free-range eggs rose further in 2025 to 24.7% (2024: 23.6%). The share of organically produced eggs was 14.6%, also increasing compared to the previous year (2024: 14.1%). The remaining 3.1% of egg production came from small group housing and enriched cages (2024: 4.3%). A total of 45.2 million laying hens were kept on average in the surveyed farms. This means that in 2025, each hen laid an average of 304 eggs.
Egg production in free-range and organic farming is increasing again
The average number of laying hens in free-range systems rose again significantly by 5.0%, or 538,000 birds, to 11.2 million. Egg production in free-range systems increased by 5.2%, or 167 million eggs, to 3.4 billion eggs. Just over half of these eggs came from Lower Saxony (45.0%) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (10.7%).
The average number of laying hens in organic production also increased in 2025, by 3.3% or 215,000 to 6.7 million birds. Correspondingly, the number of organic eggs rose by 4.1% or 79 million to 2.0 billion. More than half of all organic eggs were produced in Lower Saxony (45.3%) and Bavaria (11.4%).
There has been little change in egg production in barn, small group and cage systems, however, it has declined sharply.
The average number of laying hens in barn systems decreased slightly by 0.9%, or 226,000, to 25.9 million birds in 2025. The number of eggs produced from this system, however, remained virtually unchanged. 7.9 billion eggs came from barn systems, representing a slight decrease of 0.2%, or just under 17 million eggs. Almost half of these barn eggs originated in Lower Saxony (34.7%) and North Rhine-Westphalia (12.8%).
As in previous years, the number of animals kept in small groups and enriched cages, as well as the number of eggs produced under this housing system, declined in 2025. Compared to 2024, the average number of laying hens decreased significantly by 28.8%, or 562,000, to just under 1.4 million. The number of eggs produced fell by a similarly large amount: by 28.0%, or 164 million, to 423 million. The reason for this sharp decline is the ban on this housing system in Germany since 2010, although existing farms were permitted to continue keeping hens in small groups and enriched cages until the end of 2025.
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