As the laying hen industry transitions to cage-free systems such as aviaries, balancing profitable and efficient egg production with improved hen welfare will ensure long-term industry sustainability. To evaluate the impact of housing system design on egg production and quality, mortality, floor laying, feed delivery, body weight, and fearfulness of the hens, a study was conducted using two different styles of commercial aviaries. At 16 weeks of age (WOA), floor-reared Hy-Line Brown pullets were moved into 7 aviary rooms (N60 = 4 rooms; STEP = 3 rooms). Each room was divided into 4 sections that served as experimental units for most data collection (N60 = 144 birds/section; STEP = 164 birds/section). Mortality, production, and feed delivery data were collected daily across relevant weeks, while egg quality procedures, body weight collection, and fear tests were conducted at specific timepoints throughout the flock cycle. Hen-day production was higher in STEP than N60 (P < 0.05). Mislaid eggs were higher in N60 than STEP across the duration of the study (+5.59±0.26%, P < 0.01). Egg quality parameters followed expected age-related changes, with no differences between aviary types. Feed delivery was higher in STEP than N60 (P < 0.01), but body weights were similar between systems. Older hens vocalized less and struggled more in the manual restraint test (P < 0.05), but there were no differences seen in an emergence test. All hens showed increased fear towards humans after the first timepoint when tested in an arena setting (P < 0.01); in the home pen, only N60 hens had a larger human avoidance distance at later timepoints (P < 0.05). Overall, aviary design impacted flock production, the incidence of floor laying, feed delivery, and hen mortality, potentially due to resource availability and use within the system. Fear tests did not reveal major differences in hens living in the two aviary types, but design may affect outcomes when performing testing in the home environment.
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