Help need opinions on debeaking

[vjbakke]

I agree with the others, don't do it. They will be fine shipped together. I have never heard of a hatchery offering this for day old chicks? What hatchery is it?

 

[ralleia]

Oh my God, NO!

I've had over 40 chickens in what would be considered an undersized coop for that number and have never had an issue with them pecking each other over the space being confined.

Commercial chicken growers do it when keeping their chickens in dungeon-like conditions, and I suppose the hens go mad.

I too want to know--what hatchery is recommending this?

 

[mkcolls]

We purchased over 55 chicks in several batches last year. After doing some research about debeaking we decided it was not what we wanted in our backyard flock. Negatives included trouble feeding, loss of weight and that it is not recommended and not necessary.

Several months later we responded to a plea from a family that wanted to close their backyard flock. Half of the hens had been debeaked. Half of the debeaked hens were overly debeaked, affecting feeding.All of these hen were underweight, aggressive and mean and believe me the other hens of the flock gave them wide berth. These hens were nasty.

We set up special feeding stations for these hens as we found if the feeders we were using were low on feed they could not scoop enough feed. It took them several months to recover, they were all in a severe moult, some have had very soft crumbling shells and it took the ones who have recovered over three months to look like healthy hens. Lots of extra protein, cayenne pepper, electrolytes, and vitamins.

In early December half of the debeaked hens had not laid eggs, were still in moult, and we sent them to freezer camp. They dressed out between 2 and 2.75lbs. They have been good for crock pot meals and make great broth.

Make sure that you have enough room for your chicks to brood and as they grow. Allow them to have outside time as soon as they are feathered out and as weather permits. Provide good feed with plenty of protein. Give them attention and stay on top of their behavior and health.

From our experience we would never debeak a chick. Hope this helps you to make your decision.

 

[buzymom13]

I'm in my 2nd winter with chickens/ducks/guineas... I do NOT debeak and don't intend to. I'm sure there may be people who do and think it's how to handle it but I agree with the previous posts...there is not reason for it IMO. I even have multiple roos housed together and it's not been a problem.

Good Luck with the peeps!

 

[[email protected]]

I have never even heard about debeaking chicks. It sound painful and horrible. Please do not debeak the poor babies.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I forgot to mention that I have over 100 chickens at any given time and NONE are de-beaked and I have NEVER had a pecking or behavior problem.

 

[Nslangton]

Thanks for the replies. I ordered from Moyer Hatchery in PA. They suggested a double beak trim. That might be different from debeaking. Not Sure, I had never heard of this and it will be our first chickens in 25 years, so needless to say my chicken skills are rusty and I want everything to be perfect for the chicks. Can not wait. I will not trim or debeak the chicks!!!

 

[huckleberry acres]

Debeaking might be different than beak trimming. My dad raised quail and he would trim the beaks to keep them from pecking each other when younger. The beaks grew back. It was like trimming human finger nails - just took the pointy end off and left the rest of the beak. Used heat and did not hurt the birds. I helped him at an early age and the young quail didn't seem to notice. Not sure I'd have it done on chickens especially if they free range and might need the pointy end of their beak for defense and eating all those critters they uncover from scratching.

 

[BlazeJester]

I would still not do anything to the chicks that is not absolutely necessary - as though they don't have enough to deal with being born, packaged, shipped and exposed to who knows what bacteria and viruses in their first few weeks of life, being unnecessarily medicated with antibiotics by overly cautious owners, etc.

 

[foxypoproxy]

X2

I would still not do anything to the chicks that is not absolutely necessary - as though they don't have enough to deal with being born, packaged, shipped and exposed to who knows what bacteria and viruses in their first few weeks of life, being unnecessarily medicated with antibiotics by overly cautious owners, etc.