Debeaking Totally Explained

Everything about Debeaking totally explained

Debeaking, also known as "beak trimming", is a process by which parts of the beak of a chicken or turkey are trimmed. Many variations of debeaking are used. Most commonly, the beak is shortened permanently, with the lower beak somewhat longer than the upper beak. Debeaking takes place as a measure to reduce excessive feather pecking and cannibalism in a stressed bird population. In some countries, such as the U.S., debeaking is considered routine. In others, it's presented as a last resort where alternatives are considered not to be possible or appropriate. For example, Dr Phillip C. Glatz made a study from 2000 called Review of Beak Trimming Methods for the Australian Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

government branch and highly emphasized the advantages of debeaking as a measure to control the problems that stress would otherwise cause.
Controversy over debeaking tends to focus around the question of whether and to what extent such traumatic and debilitating methods are necessary, and whether environmental measures alone will realistically prevent the problems caused by stress in birds.

History

Debeaking was developed at the Ohio Experiment Station in the Thirties. The original form was temporary, cutting roughly 1/4" off the beak. The tip of the beak has no blood supply and presumably no sensation. The procedure was performed by hand with a sharp knife, either when deaths due to cannibalism became excessive, or when the problem was anticipated because of a history of cannibalism in the particular strain of chicken.
   Cannibalism has two peaks in the life of a chicken; during the brooding period and at the onset of laying. The point-of-lay cannibalism is generally the most damaging and gets most of the attention. The temporary beak-trimming developed at the Ohio Experiment Station assumed that cannibalism is a phase, and that blunting the beak temporarily would be adequate.
   Later the practice turned to permanent beak-trimming, using a pair of electrically heated blades in beak-trimming machine,to provide a self-cauterizing cut. A variety of other methods are also used.
   Another form of temporary beak-trimming is often performed on day-old chicks at the hatchery, usually using an electrostatic method. This deals with brooder-house cannibalism but is insufficiently permanent to deal with point-of-lay cannibalism.
   That cannibalism is a serious management problem dating back to the periods before factory farming isn't open to question, nor is the fact that beak trimming is intended to solve cannibalism. Poultry books written before the rise of factory farming and the vertical integration of the poultry industry (and which therefore can't be accused of bias towards factory farming) take the problem seriously:

Chicks and adult birds' picking at each other until blood shows and then destroying one another by further picking is a source of great loss in many flocks, especially when kept in confinement .... The recommendation of the Ohio Experiment Station of cutting back the tip of the upper beak has been found to be effective until the beak grows out again.

As can be seen, the problem of cannibalism, the use of debeaking, and the attention of researchers on these issues date back roughly seventy years, and has continued up to the present. The issue of cannibalism is very well understood, as are the pros and cons of the most common method of controlling it, debeaking.

Prevalence of Cannibalism

Cannibalism is common among laying hens of many breeds (including both heritage breeds and modern hybrids). The tendency to cannibalism varies among different strains of chickens, but doesn't manifest itself consistently. Instead, some flocks of the same breed may be entirely free from cannibalism, while others, under the same management, may have a serious outbreak.
   Cannibalism occurs mostly under crowded conditions, including high-density confinement, low-density confinement, and yarding. It is almost unheard of in true free range, where the chickens make daily use of an extremely large area. However, true free range is an almost nonexistent management practice in commercial egg production. For example, EU-style "free range" is really just yarding. The difference between range and yarding is emphasized in farming publications dating back to before the techniques of true free range were lost (see Geoffrey Sykes' "The Henyard" (1952) and Jull's "Successful Poultry Management" (1943)). Yarding has few if any advantages over confinement.
   Thus, for practical purposes, beak-trimming is a valuable procedure for the laying hens making up virtually 100% of the market in the developed world. It is only unnecessary under a management system that has largely been forgotten and isn't practiced commercially to any great extent. This in turn means that the assumption that beak-trimming is useless or unnecessary is based on the false premise that management systems that work well without beak-trimming are well-understood and easily deployed.
   While it's possible to raise hens in low-density free-range housing that makes beak-trimming unnecessary, using methods such as those described by Robert Plamondon, even farmers practicing these methods acknowledge that they're not widely established, have not been demonstrated to be consistently profitable, and can only be practiced in areas with mild winters, as chickens won't spend enough time outdoors under harsh winter conditions for the benefits of free range to manifest themselves. While these methods are promising from a variety of viewpoints, they can't be adopted overnight and the cost of producing such eggs is very high.
   Because cannibalism is a problem with laying flocks using all widely deployed management methods, eliminating beak-trimming will result in more injuries and deaths due to cannibalism. It is practical to operate a laying flock in this manner, provided that the higher costs resulting from these injuries and deaths are compensated by higher prices. That farmers should receive higher prices on the grounds that keeping the flock under such conditions is more "humane" is open to question.
   In broilers, the tendency towards cannibalism has been largely eliminated, and broilers are not routinely beak-trimmed. This has yet to be achieved with laying hens.

Pain of debeaking

Debeaking is essentially an amputation without anesthesia and carries many of the same symptoms that accompany human amputations. For example, leading animal welfare expert Dr. Ian Duncan states that: “There is now good morphological, neurophysiological and behavioural evidence that beak trimming leads to both acute and chronic pain.”
No amputation is 100% successful and neuromas can occur if the procedure isn't done correctly; the temperature of the blade, the angle of the cut and the age of the bird especially, are all factors in a successful debeaking. Research from 1996 showed that micro-neuromas were present in all beaks of a moderately trimmed population after 10 weeks, but after 70 weeks all neuromas had disappeared. After several weeks the nerve fibers of the beak simply regrow and the neuroma regresses. These neuromas had been assumed to indicate chronic pain in early studies, but the fact that these neuromas resolve over time means that the pain isn't chronic (by definition).
Some farmers raise debeaked and non-debeaked birds in the same flock. Robert Plamondon has obtained thousands of debeaked hens over the years from Oregon State University and other sources, while he never debeaks the chicks he raises himself. He reports that he can discern no difference between the debeaked and non-debeaked hen's behavior or apparent enjoyment of life.

Best practice

Like most livestock management methods, much depends on experience and the farmer's preferences when it comes to choosing among the advantages and disadvanatages between the different methods. North and Bell list six methods in widespread use (block trimming at 6-8 days, side-type trimming at 6-8 days, high-speed trimming at 1 day of age, notch-type trimming at 1 day of age, beak trimming at 6-12 weeks of age, and 18-week trimming), which vary in permanence, the skill required by the operator, and the expected side effects. Of these methods, the 18-week trimming is the method of last resort, as the downside is greater when performed on older birds. The original method of temporary trimming after an outbreak has begun is no longer practiced.
Debeaking can be dispensed with in broiler flocks and in flocks given true free range (that is, grass range that the flock as a whole makes daily use of, as opposed to yarding or confinement). In "Poultry Husbandry," Jull states:

The most effective measure of preventing cannibalism seems to be to give the birds good grass range, although in the winter time in the northern sections of the country this isn't possible.

In yarded or confined birds, the need for debeaking varies with the amount of individual attention that can be given to the chickens, the degree of cannibalism in the strain chosen, and the amount of crowding. Outbreaks of cannibalism can occur suddenly, and the task of containing it can overwhelm a farmer with a large flock. With large flocks, the emphasis must be on prevention. With small flocks or an abundant supply of labor, the feasibility of intervention after an outbreak begins is greater.

Alternatives to debeaking

A range of options have been proposed as possible alternatives to debeaking. Some of these generate significant controversy themselves:

Implanting hormones.
Blind chickens. Hereditary blindness from an autosomal recessive gene causes chickens to be full feathered, produce more eggs and eat less. This method is far superior to any other method of controlling feather picking.
The fitting of 'bits' (a plastic ring that attaches in the nostrils and circles through the beak) to deter pecking by making it painful.
The fitting of 'spectacles' to reduce each bird's field of vision much like blinders.
Enrichment devices. Introduced at an early age, simple objects hung in a habitat can reduce aggressive behavior.
Dividing the population into smaller groups, and/or removing some of the males.
Changing light intensity or changing its color, because reducing light also reduces social interaction.
Adding straw, grain and whey blocks to direct pecking desires away from flockmates and onto food instead. Fresh grass clippings, weeds and lettuce may also work.
Anti-pick compounds. Grease, anti-pick, or pine tar applied to wounded areas.
Selective breeding, choosing birds with lower tendency to peck.
The introduction of free range at an early age, in climates that allow year-round outdoor access.

All of these methods, with the possible exception of hormones, have been the topic of research, and their advantages, disadvantages, cost, and effectiveness are known. The concept that farmers are too ignorant to be aware of alternatives has no basis.

Common arguments against debeaking

The primary argument against debeaking is that it's cruel -- that is, more than being merely painful, it indicates a lack of concern for the chicken.
The argument about cruelty is often coupled with a minimization of the problem of cannibalism, generally by implying that it only occurs on factory farms, or even only on the worst factory farms. This shifts the focus from the technical problem of controlling cannibalism to how to encourage or force farmers to abandon debeaking.
Secondary arguments are also used:

Debeaking prevents the chicken from foraging.

Debeaking prevents the chickens from establishing a pecking order, as it reduces their ability to peck.

Debeaking prevents the chickens from preening.

Debeaking causes permanent pain. Farmers who have raised both debeaked and non-debeaked birds at the same time and mixed in the same flock have provided evidence against the first three criticisms, claiming that the behavior of the debeaked birds doesn't differ from that of the non-debeaked ones.
Studies claiming chronic pain in birds from debeaking are generally from 1992 and earlier, especially an oft-cited study by Michael C. Appleby of Edinburgh University. Later studies have concluded that the initial pain is brief and that the chronic problems have not been studied thoroughly. The neuromas relating to the pain have been found to go away after 10 weeks or more.
Conscientious consumers often avoid supporting farms that practice debeaking. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has had great success in convincing restaurants such as Burger King to utilize suppliers who don't follow the practices of debeaking or forced molting.

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