debeaking???? What is it

[chickanddoglvr]

I am about to order my new batch of chicks and found a check box for debeacking and decoming. i have no idea what ether of those things are, do they hurt are they helpful? should i get it or not.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[gumbii]

they lazer cut the top of the beak... very painful and they do it so they don't peck and pull eachother's feathers out... mostly layers and broiler birds get it... but it sucks...

 

[chicmom]

I wouldn't do it Nick. It just looks terrible to see a hen with only half of her top beak. Seems cruel to me. And the comb, there's no need to cut it off. (That's called dubbing.)
Often when they have roosters for illegal fighting, they will dub it. Another reason for dubbing is that some are dubbed for showing.

In my opinion, I wouldn't do it.

Sharon

 

[TrystInn]

Debeaking - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debeaking

decombing - surgical removal of the comb in the chicken or young bird to facilitate protrusion of the head through the bars of a battery cage. Pendulous wattles may be treated in the same way.

My recommendation, don't do either.

 

[kla37]

Don't do it. They debeak chickens in poultry houses to keep them from injuring each other due to the incredibly overcrowded conditions. I wouldn't buy chickens from any place that even offered that.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Unless you are running a large-scale poultry operation that crams birds into too small a space to avoid pecking problems, there is absolutely no benefit to debeaking. It is where they cut off about half of the top beak, so that birds can't pick at each other and cause injuries or death. Yes, I believe it is very painful and totally unnecessary if you are providing your birds with adequate space. It also causes added stress to the hatchling and probably increases the risk for losses during shipping.

I hadn't heard of decombing, but I would imagine it is where they remove the comb. I guess it would have the benefit in a huge commercial operation by removing a target for other birds to pick at (or as TrystInn stated to facilitate protrusion of the head through the bars of a cage) but it probably has no significant benefit for a properly managed backyard flock. You could probably make the argument that decombing would eliminate the risk of frostbite, but it still seems like a procedure that would be better left until there is an actual problem (ie, the comb gets frostbite).

 

[TreeHugger]

I wouldn't do it. I think that the decombing (dubbing) would eliminate frostbite but I agree with AinaWGSD about not being concerned about that unless there was an actual issue.

 

[chickanddoglvr]

Yes i know that the place were i get my chicks does handle big commercial jobs. Thanks for warning me about this, i had no idea really what it was. My chickens have PLENTY of space to run and play so i don't think that doing this would be a very smart move.
Thanks,
Nick