Clipping Beaks

[mcdaid72000]

Recently tried adding 3 month old chicks to flock thought the other 5 hens would be fine with the new chicks, but chicks got injured and heard about beak clipping and wondering the best tool(toenail clippers, dog clippers or dremel) and how to prevent further damage to the new chicks. Would like to add chicks to flock without further damage

 

[azygous]

Clipping beaks will not stop the older chickens from being mean to the youngsters. Clipping more than just the beak tip is not something we are behind on this site, generally speaking. And trimming only the tip doesn't accomplish much and it grows back in just a few weeks anyway. Beak trimming risks cutting into the quick and I can assure you, the chicken experiences excruciating pain when that happens, in addition to profuse, hard to stop bleeding.

If you provide lots of space when introducing new chickens, it will help a lot. If you provide partitions in your run and vertical escapes such as elevated platforms and perches, that can help a lot.

In the future, begin integration of new chicks at two or three weeks of age with a "panic room" setup, and the older chickens will have a much easier time accepting them.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Do not clip their beaks. It's painful for them, and it prevents them from eating and drinking properly.
What method did you use introduce the chicks?

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot depends on your set up. These things help.

• hideouts
• escapes for the chicks, places where big girls can't fit
• see but no touch
• or pin-less peepers

Mrs K

 

[HappyClucker7]

1 hour a day. Doubt it. Unsure how to make hiding places

Okay, so you probably did not integrate them enough. Put the chicks in an area where the older hens can see them all day, but can't actually get to them. Once, the hens completely ignore the chicks, you can let them out together under close supervision. Some pecking is normal, but make sure it doesn't get too violent.
For hiding places, you can use buckets, boxes, anything that is big enough for the chicks to get under, but too small for the hens.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Method?

Did you keep the chicks separate, but where the older hens could see them?
Did you let them free range under supervision?
Did you just put the chicks in and hope for the best?

How did you integrate the new babies?

 

[rosemarythyme]

1 hour a day. Doubt it. Unsure how to make hiding places

For see but don't touch integration it's generally 1-2 weeks, with the birds being able to see each other the entire day. 1 hour doesn't do anything because they never get a chance to get used to each other.

Hiding places: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

Also to clarify, beak clipping isn't what you think. They do it in commercial settings to prevent birds from cannibalizing each other due to crowding and stress. The beaks are cut off through the core of the beak to prevent it from regrowing (it's like cutting through the quick of a nail), but it also makes it much harder for the birds to eat this way (imagine if someone cut off the front half of your lips, would you be able to eat like that?) Absolutely no reason a chicken should be debeaked in a backyard setting.

 

[azygous]

The quick is the same as in nails. It's the inner part of the beak just like a toe nail or a spur on a chicken. It's where the nerves and blood supply live. Just as with nail trimming, if you cut too far back, you hit the quick and then there's lots of bleeding and cursing. The former from the chicken and the latter from you.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Option 1 and 2.

Okay, good. How long did you integrate them for?
Also, are there any places for the little ones to hide from the big girls?

 

[mcdaid72000]

Okay, good. How long did you integrate them for?
Also, are there any places for the little ones to hide from the big girls?

1 hour a day. Doubt it. Unsure how to make hiding places