Clipping Beaks

[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.

 

[mcdaid72000]

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.

What is the quick? Where is the quick? Thought it was only in claws like cats and dogs.

 

[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.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Where is the quick?

Nobody here is going to support you clipping the beaks. Use the search function and put the word integration and put in the time and effort to get it right.