'debeaked' chickens...

[bunny1]

hello all, i have been given some young (just beginning to lay) 'rescued' girls, whose top beaks have been trimmed much shorter than the bottom. i DO NOT condone this practice; however these girls will hopefully have a long and happy life in my back yard... what i DO want to know is, can i shorten the bottom beak a little to help them to be able to peck at their feed more effectively? at the moment i am feeding them in quite a deep bowl, so they are managing to eat ok, but there's no way they'd be able to pick up grains or insects from the ground... can i shorten it without hurting them? if i can, should i do it with a file, or sandpaper, or should i trim it with say fingernail cutters? i have asked my vet who doesnt seem to know... hope someone can help... cheers, sarah in nz

 

[12GAGirl]

I think cutting beaks should be illegal! People can be so mean and STUPID

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
Much better to allow the birds to eat each other alive.

.....Alan.

 

[elmo]

I have no experience with this, but my gut instinct would be no, leave the bottom beak alone.

 

[MimiChick]

I also have a "rescue" girl whose top beak had been shortened

She's a lovely RSL who gives me a beautiful jumbo brown egg every day at 8:00 am (I could practically set my watch by her she's so regular

) I watched her carefully when I first got her because I was worried about her being able to eat well and get her fair share of goodies. Well, first she made herself top hen over my Ameraucana, then she made sure she got to all the food first! She seems to have very little trouble getting grains when I give them a scratch treat. She just tends to scoop a little more than peck. She also does very well getting bugs and worms and such. So, I wouldn't worry too much. From what I've seen, chickens are very adaptable. I agree with you, I absolutely don't condone beak trimming, but our Strawberry now has a much better home and environment, and I'm sure your girls do too. I wouldn't trim anything more. They'll be fine. Good luck and have fun

BTW

 

[chickenlady08]

We purchased some RSL from our local livestock supply in 2008. All of them had had their beaks trimmed as well. I totally don't like the fact that anyone does this. I do beleive that as long as it is not cut to short they will grow back to a certain point. I traded a RIR rooster for a White Leghorn and someone had cut both the top and bottom beaks and she had a hard time to pick up food or treats from the ground. It has grown back but it is still short. I kept her seperated for quite awhile and she seems to do ok now. She is a small chicken but she gets her fair share of treats and food. When I purchased 25 babies March of 2009 I do not nor will i ever cut their beaks. I know that some people prefer them to have the beaks cut but I think it is cruel.

 

[chickenlady08]

Quote:

 

[Shifty Joe]

It's kind of like de-clawing cats... not nice, but in certain situations makes sense. I've always thought if you need to debeck chicks, you have to many chicks for your space. Happy chickens don't eat each other... unless the other one is especially tasty.

 

[patandchickens]

My first three chickens were point-of-lay feedstore pullets and thus debeaked. (They debeak them so they don't eat each other alive when kept in crowded conditions. I don't condone keeping them like that in the first place, but if one is GOING to, IMO it is better to at least reduce the amount of cannibalism by means of debeaking).

Other than they couldn't pick up small pieces of food off a *hard* surface, they showed no obvious ill effects of it and did just fine.

Just make sure yours always have enough depth of feed in their feeder, so they are not trying to pick up a single piece off a hard surface, and they should be fine. Personally I would leave the lower beak alone, no point in making them hurtier than they have to be.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[bunny1]

thanks everyone for your help. i do understand WHY people debeak, and agree that its the conditions that cause the canniballism problem... these girls are much luckier than their ecage-mates... wisj i could save them all... they seem to be settling in fine and its good to know their beaks may grow some... cheers, sarah. ps- what does rsl stand for?