Laying Hen Welfare Fact Sheet

among the major stressors in poultry that cause suffering and death of chickens. Beak trimming, removal of 1/3 to 1/2 of the beak, is a routine husbandry procedure practiced in the poultry industry, including laying hens, broiler breeders, turkey and ducks, to prevent those undesirable behaviors. However, beak trimming is a painful procedure. There is a considerable body of morphological, neurophysiological, behavioral and production research demonstrating the emergence of several markers of acute and chronic pain (e.g., persistent lethargy and guarding behaviors, reduced feed intake, and development of neuromas) as a result of beak trimming. The most desirable approach to control cannibalism and to eliminate beak trimming is through genetic selection, i.e., selecting chickens with less aggressive behavior and non-cannibalism.