Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant Round 1 Guidance for Invited Applicants
Summary
The Rural Payments Agency and Defra published guidance for round 1 of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant, available only to invited applicants. The grant provides £5,000 to £500,000 for commercial egg producers and pullet rearers to upgrade or replace laying hen or pullet housing, or add verandas to improve animal health and welfare. Applications must be submitted by 28 April 2026.
What changed
Round 1 of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant provides funding for invited applicants to replace, upgrade, or add verandas to existing laying hen or pullet housing. The grant ranges from £5,000 to £500,000 and is specifically for commercial egg producers or pullet rearers with 1,000 or more registered birds on site. Eligible projects are classified as either 'comprehensive' (replacement or upgrade of housing) or 'veranda-only' (addition of a veranda to existing housing).
Commercial egg producers and pullet rearers who have received an invitation from the RPA should review the detailed application guidance and ensure their bird registrations meet the eligibility criteria. The application deadline of 28 April 2026 provides approximately two years from the initial publication date, allowing sufficient time for project planning and submission.
What to do next
- Read the full guidance documents before applying
- Ensure you are an invited applicant with 1,000+ registered birds
- Submit full application by 28 April 2026
Archived snapshot
Apr 16, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Guidance
Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1: guidance for invited applicants
Invited applicants can apply for a grant to add a veranda onto, or to upgrade or replace existing laying hen or pullet housing to improve animal health and welfare.
From: Rural Payments Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Published 14 May 2024 Last updated 16 April 2026
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Applies to England
Documents
About the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1, who can apply and what the grant can pay for
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Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 specifications
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How to apply for a comprehensive project as part of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 (invited applicants)
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How to apply for a veranda-only project as part of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 (invited applicants)
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How to submit a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 full application for Veranda-only projects (invited applicants)
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How to submit a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 full application for Comprehensive projects (invited applicants)
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Details
Only invited applicants can apply for round 1 of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant.
Find out about other grants and funds.
What the grant is for
Round 1 of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant is to provide animal health and welfare benefits by:
- replacing or upgrading existing laying hen or pullet housing (a ‘comprehensive’ project)
- adding a veranda onto existing laying hen or pullet housing (a ‘veranda-only’ project) Grant value: between £5,000 and £500,000.
Who can apply
You can apply for a grant if you’re:
- an existing commercial egg producer or pullet rearer
- a registered keeper of 1000 or more birds, which must be on site when you filled in the online checker or have been within the last 6 months
When you can apply
Invited applicants have until 11:59pm on 28 April 2026 to submit your full application.
How to apply
- Read how to apply for a comprehensive project as part of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 or how to apply for a veranda-only project as part of the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1.
- Read how to submit a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 full application for Comprehensive projects (invited applicants) or how to submit a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 full application for Veranda-only projects (invited applicants).
- Complete your application and email it with any supporting documents to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk. The success of your application will depend on the:
- score your project achieves (comprehensive projects only)
- number and value of applications we receive (comprehensive and veranda-only projects) If your application is successful, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will send you a grant funding agreement (GFA).
Updates to this page
Published 14 May 2024 Last updated 16 April 2026 show all updates
1.
16 April 2026
Information about redacting sensitive data when returning evidence added.
2.
2 March 2026
Amended the email address to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk as the Grants Service email addresses are no longer in use.
3.
16 January 2026
Updated to provide further information to customers for the Comprehensive Projects scheme about the requirements. Question 4.1 updated and 2.2 specifications tab.
4.
12 November 2025
Removed Exeter Address
5.
22 January 2025
The deadline date has been extended to 11.59pm on 28 April 2026.
6.
21 January 2025
The deadline date for the scheme has been extended to 28 April 2026.
7.
13 January 2025
How to submit a laying hen housing for health and welfare grant round 1 full application for comprehensive projects - invited applicants. Additional information has been given under 'Providing quotes' at Section 2.4 Costs and suppliers tab. A paragraph detailing the Printable spec tab has been added.
8.
18 September 2024
The online checker has now closed and invited applicants have until 30 January 2026 to submit their full application for the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant. All guidance updated and new guidance added on how to submit a full application for both Veranda-only and Comprehensive projects.
9.
20 August 2024
HTML attachment about the grant updated to include closing date for applications.
10.
26 June 2024
Updated 'Details' section to show Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant online checker is now live and closes 18 September 2024.
Updated 'How to apply' guidance for comprehensive and veranda-only projects to include link to 'Start' button for online checker.
11.
28 May 2024
Amended 'About' page to confirm we will start to invite eligible applicants to make a full application from October 2024.
12.
14 May 2024
First published.
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