You're probably aware of the looming deadline imposed by California's Proposition 2, where farmers must comply with mandates requiring them to double the size of their chicken coops. The law, first passed in 2008, prohibits the confinement of farm animals, from chickens to cattle to pigs. In regards to egg-laying hens specifically, the law imposes cage size requirements of five feet by 12 feet and housing no more than 60 chickens at a time, giving each hen essentially one square foot to move about. The controversy is still brewing as the deadline approaches five months out.

Check out these five Prop 2 facts you should know to be informed on this issue:

1. The deadline of January 1, 2015 is fast approaching, when farmers – both in state and out of state -- who plan to continue selling their eggs there must convert their chicken coops to double the existing size.
2. The California Department of Food and Agriculture passed laws in 2013 barring farmers from entering into a contract to buy or sell eggs in the Golden State when those eggs were produced by hens confined in a non-approved enclosure with insufficient space for the hens, says The Heritage Foundation.
3. After Missouri sued California this past February for Prop 2's Constitution violations, five other states got in on the act and brought their own lawsuits against the state. Alabama, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Nebraska also believe Prop 2 is unconstitutional and forces farmers to spend an inordinate amount of money just to comply.
4. According to BallotPedia, Prop 2 prohibits the confinement of farm animals in an area that does not proliferate the opportunity to lie down, stand up, stretch their limbs or turn about freely. The cost of compliance can be huge for small-time farmers who are struggling to make ends meet as it is. In fact, it can cost into the tens of millions of dollars to make their cages double the size of industry regulations. Missouri, for example, spent a whopping $120 million. Farmers who can't afford this transition say this huge cost may very well put them out of business. Why? Many of them rely heavily on their sales of eggs to California, one of the largest egg production states in the nation.
5. Relocation is an option for those against Prop 2, with states like Idaho and Nevada luring California chicken farmers to their lands to reap the benefits of lower costs and friendlier, lighter regulations. Such relaxed regulations won't call for such a large compliance expense for farmers but the cost of relocation alone could be a detriment.

Consumers, in addition to farmers, will also feel the effects of Prop 2. At the grocery store, shoppers will see some kind of price increase for a dozen eggs once the deadline comes and goes in January. Proponents of Prop 2 say chickens should get humane treatment with suggestions for farmers to even convert to cage free systems at some point in the near future. Prop 2's detractors says this law goes against the very basics of the Constitution and imposes unfair compliance expenses. California's chicken law certainly will see its continued share of controversy, even more so when the deadline of  January 1, 2015 hits.