Can't you just buy free-range chicken and eggs? Free range chicken is easy to find in the UK.
"Free-Range" and "Cage-Free" here in The States is such a loose standard, it's laughable. The conditions can just be as unhealthy and unsafe for the birds as battery cages. A lot of cage-free chickens live in cramped indoors, never seeing the light of day for their whole life.
There are proper EU standards for free-range; also the standard for organic chicken and eggs are even higher.
I am not so sure, but I don't know anything about it. tauta_krypta, would you be willing to look into it? Do the rules vary by country? How are they enforced? Here are some things to consider: 1. Chickens that are bred for eating are not so good for laying eggs. Chickens bred for eggs are not so good for eating. The result is that male birds of the egg-laying breeds are not very valuable. What happens to them? 2. Hens naturally lay fewer eggs or stop laying eggs in the fall when the weather gets colder and the days shorter. How do Europeans get eggs in the winter?