A Compassion Over Killing Report:
Animal Suffering in the Egg Industry

Beak-Trimming

Most laying hens in the United States are "beak-trimmed."(40) This procedure, in which part of the beak of a young chick is seared off with a hot blade, is performed without anesthesia or analgesia.(41-43) It has been shown that this results in both acute and chronic pain.(44, 45) Because severed nerves partially re-grow in the bird's beak, studies have equated the pain to that of a phantom limb.(46)

Chickens use their beaks to explore their surroundings. Their beaks are their primary means of touching and feeling, as well as for picking up objects. After their beaks are trimmed, both chicks and adults exhibit great difficulty in grasping and swallowing feed.(47) The egg industry claims that beak trimming is needed both to decrease aggressive tendencies among birds and to reduce feed costs.(48)

However, aggression among caged hens has been proven to be rare in occurrence, and, in any case, beak trimming does not decrease aggressive tendencies.(49) Therefore, beak trimming is performed principally because it reduces "food flicking, food wastage, and food consumption."(50) The procedure is seen by Dr. Mench as a "stop-gap measure masking basic inadequacies in environment or management."(51) Banned in some European countries, the procedure has been proven unnecessary, as many including Dr. Duncan say that "it is possible to manage hens without debeaking them."(52)

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