What Is Chicken Beak Trimming? A Detailed Guide to Preventing and Treating Feather Pecking and Cannibalism in Chickens
Beak trimming, commonly called debeaking. I supervised a chicken farm for two years. The main reason is that with high stocking density in group housing, chickens easily develop the habit of pecking other chickens' vents, toes and feathers (especially tail feathers), causing injuries and poor appearance (bare tails), which affects sales.
The first and most effective way to prevent and treat feather pecking and cannibalism in chickens is beak trimming of young chicks. The second is proper diet formulation. The ratio of amino acids to vitamins in the diet is: methionine greater than 0.7%, tryptophan greater than 0.2%, lysine greater than 1%, leucine greater than 1.4%, cystine greater than 0.35%, vitamin B2 2.6 mg per kg of feed, vitamin B6 2.6 mg, vitamin A 1200 international units, vitamin D3 110 international units, etc.
[Prevention and Control Measures]
(1) Trim the chickens' beaks at the right time. Generally, chicks are beak-trimmed once at 7 to 9 days of age, and around 70 days of age, depending on the specific situation, all or some chickens are re-trimmed. When adult chickens that have never been beak-trimmed develop feather pecking and cannibalism, they can be beak-trimmed promptly.
(2) The stocking density should be relatively loose, the brightness of artificial lighting should not be too strong, and attention should be paid to the hygiene and ventilation conditions of the chicken house, so as to provide a comfortable environment for the chickens.
(3) There should be sufficient nest boxes for laying hens. Generally, one nest box can be set up for every 4 to 5 hens. Nest boxes should be of uniform style and placed in relatively secluded, dimly lit areas.
(4) The nutritional content of the feed should be comprehensive and sufficient. Do not feed only a single type of feed. In particular, the requirements for some important amino acids, trace elements and vitamins should be ensured.
(5) Once feather pecking and cannibalism is found in the flock, the vicious chickens should be isolated immediately, and those seriously pecked and injured should be culled. At the same time, the cause should be identified and eliminated. Some drugs or nutritional elements that stop pecking can be added to the feed, such as adding 2% to 3% raw gypsum powder to the feed and feeding it for about half a month. To stop vent pecking, the salt content in the feed can be raised to 2% and fed for 2 to 4 days, with adequate drinking water ensured, but salt must not be added to the drinking water.
(6) When vent pecking is relatively severe, the flock can also be temporarily confined in the chicken house, with red light bulbs installed and red paper pasted on the windows, so that everything in the house appears red, and the redness of the vents is no longer conspicuous. After a few days, when the pecking subsides, normal rearing can be resumed.