Why trim chickens beaks
Beak trimming can cause pain and stress, the extent of which will depend on a number of factors such as the method used, age of the bird, amount of beak removed, calibration and appropriate functioning of the equipment, and training of personnel involved in carrying out the procedure.
The reliance on beak trimming as a routine method of managing feather pecking and cannibalism is a concern. There is a need to employ alternative management strategies to reduce the risk of injurious pecking.
Management and stockpersonship are crucial in controlling feather pecking. There is a need for uptake of strategies to manage severe feather pecking without the need for beak trimming. These include:. Softening the old spur first will help you work it free more easily. Vegetable oil or petroleum jelly Vaseline , liberally applied to the juncture between the spur case and the shank, will soften the spur.
Standing the cock in warm water is another way to soften the spur sheath. When the potato is removed, wiggle the spur back and forth until it slips free.
Reheat the potato for the second spur. The quick without its protective sheath remains sensitive for a week or two and will bleed if it gets bumped. During this time the cock should be isolated from other chickens to avoid damage to the exposed quick while the spur sheath regrows.
Keeping the cock in a separate, clean pen within the same area as the other chickens will minimize fighting when he returns to the flock.
If the freshly uncovered quick bleeds, stop the bleeding by applying a wound powder such as Wonder Dust or styptic powder or an astringent such as witch hazel , or hasten clotting by liberally applying flour or cornstarch.
The soft spur will gradually harden and begin to grow a new sheath, which eventually may need to be removed again. A spur sheath that is removed regularly will naturally grow less long with each regrowth. I got some chucks — living in Spain — I am afreid they where debeaked. At time of ppurchase I did not realize it. BUt now I can see, that the lower part is about 4mm longer than the top and also square shaped. Is is safe to clip the bottom to match the top and round it off? The ladies are complete free range now, so it seems that they sould be able to use the beak properly.
Eventually, the beak will grow out and you can gently file it as it does until it is normal again. Good luck! Because of this haste and monotony of the work, the beaks of many birds are sloppily cut. Also, the labourers employed in a poultry farm are illiterate, coarse and insensitive, as most of the butchers.
Do they care where the knife cuts too deep or too close? This is what happens, according to the description given by a journal for the poultry industry:. An excessively hot blade causes blisters in the mouth.
A cold or dull blade may cause the development of a fleshy bulb-like growth at the end of the mandible Burned or severed tongues result in worthless hens. Can you imagine having your upper lip cut off? And that too, not fully but left dangling by some sloppy cutter? Or your palate blistered, or your tongue cut off?
Even as I write this piece, hundreds of fluffy little chicks have had already gone through this ghastly and painful mutilation. Sometimes this operation, even when it is done properly, causes several other problems. We use cookies on our website to optimize user experience and analyze web traffic.
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