Different effects of infrared and one-half hot blade beak trimming on beak topography and growth

Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm

This Scientific Opinion concerns the welfare of Domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus), Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata domesticus) and their hybrids (Mule ducks), Domestic geese (Anser anser f. domesticus) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) in relation to the rearing of breeders, birds for meat, Muscovy and Mule ducks and Domestic geese for foie gras and layer Japanese quail for egg production. The most common husbandry systems (HSs) in the European Union are described for each animal species and category. The following welfare consequences are described and assessed for each species: restriction of movement, injuries (bone lesions including fractures and dislocations, soft tissue lesions and integument damage and locomotory disorders including lameness), group stress, inability to perform comfort behaviour, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour and inability to express maternal behaviour (related to prelaying and nesting behaviours). Animal-based measures relevant for the assessment of these welfare consequences were identified and described. The relevant hazards leading to the welfare consequences in the different HSs were identified. Specific factors such as space allowance (including minimum enclosure area and height) per bird, group size, floor quality, characteristics of nesting facilities and enrichment provided (including access to water to fulfil biological needs) were assessed in relation to the welfare consequences and, recommendations on how to prevent the welfare consequences were provided in a quantitative or qualitative way.

Effect of beak trimming at hatch and the inclusion of oat hulls in the diet on growth performance, feed preference, exploratory pecking behavior, and gastrointestinal tract traits of brown-egg pullets from hatch to 15 weeks of age

The influence of infrared beak trimming at hatch (IRBT) and the inclusion of oat hulls (OH) in the diet on growth performance, feed preference, exploratory pecking behavior, and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, was studied in brown-egg pullets from 0 to 15 wk of age. The experimental design was completely randomized with 4 treatments arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial with IRBT (sham vs. treated) and OH inclusion (0 vs. 3%) as main effects. Each treatment was replicated 20 times and the experimental unit was a cage with 10 pullets. Feed intake (FI), BW gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), energy intake (EI, kcal AMEn/d), and energy conversion ratio (ECR, kcal AMEn/g of BW gain) were determined by feeding period (0 to 6, 7 to 10, and 11 to 15 wk of age) and cumulatively. Particle size preference was measured at 7 wk and exploratory pecking behavior of the pullets and at 8 to 14 wk of age. From 0 to 6 wk of age, beak trimming decreased FI (P < 0.01) and increased pullet mortality (P < 0.001) but did not affect BW gain. From 0 to 15 wk of age, OH inclusion improved BW uniformity (P = 0.090) but impaired FCR (P < 0.05) without showing any effect on BW gain or ECR. Preference for coarse particles was greater for the sham than for the treated pullets. Beak trimming and OH feeding reduced (P < 0.05) the exploratory pecking behavior of the pullets from 8 to 12 wk of age but not thereafter. Oat hulls increased the relative weights of the full gizzard and intestines at all ages (P < 0.05). In summary, beak trimming did not affect pullet performance at 15 wk of age or GIT development at any age. Oat hulls improved GIT development at all ages but did not affect BW or ECR. Both beak treatment and OH inclusion affected particle size preference and reduced the exploratory pecking behavior of the birds.

The impact of infrared beak treatment on turkey tom and hen beak length and performance to 12 weeks of age

Controlling injurious pecking in commercial turkeys remains a significant challenge to producers and the industry. Infrared beak treatment is an effective method of controlling injurious pecking in chickens; however, the effects of infrared beak treatment on turkey performance are still largely unknown. Two experiments were conducted to determine the impact of infrared beak treatment on the beak length and performance of turkeys raised to 12 wk of age. Experiment 1 tested both toms (n = 236) and hens (n = 324), while Experiment 2 focused on hens (n = 608). Poults for each experiment were assigned to 1 of 2 beak treatments: infrared beak treated (IR) on the day of hatch at a commercial hatchery or sham untreated control (C). Data collected included beak length, body weight, feed intake, feed efficiency, and mortality. Data were analyzed using a 1 or 2-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's range test for mean separation when interactions were found. Results showed that beak length (Experiment 1 only) was significantly shorter in IR poults from 2 to 12 wk of age. In the same experiment, IR toms had lighter body weight than C toms, but IR hens were heavier than C hens from 2 to 4 wk of age. By 12 wk, IR poults were heavier than C poults, regardless of gender. In experiment 2, IR hens had lighter body weight from 2 to 4 wk of age. In conclusion, infrared beak treatment had minimal effects on feed intake, feed efficiency, or mortality over the 12-wk periods of both experiments.

Beak trimming in japanese quails at initial phase is an alternative to reduce the negative effects of feather pecking

Regarding the lack of standardized methods for beak trimming to reduce feather pecking in Japanese quail, the present study aimed to compare two ages and 3 methods of beak trimming, evaluating the performance, egg quality and feather pecking. One-day-old Japanese quails (n = 770; 22 birds cage-1), at the initial phase, and 36-day-old (n = 630; 18 birds cage-1), at the production phase, were assigned to a completely randomized design, consisting of 7 treatments with 5 replicates. The treatments were: non-trimmed (NT), cauterization of approximately 1/3 at 14 days-of-age (CAUT 14) and at 28 days-of-age (CAUT 28), moderately trimmed to approximately 1/3 beak at 14 days-of-age (MOD 14) and at 28 days-of-age (MOD 28), severely trimmed to 1/3-1/2 beak at 14 days-of-age (SEV 14) and at 28 days-of-age (SEV 28). Data were analyzed using Minitab®. The results indicated that beak trimming methods applied did not influence the performance and egg quality. Quails subjected to MOD 28 and SEV (14 and 28) presented lower feed conversion per egg mass compared to NT. However, MOD 14 and SEV were more efficient in preventing feather pecking behavior.

Current methods and techniques of beak trimming laying hens, welfare issues and alternative approaches

Beak trimming is used in the egg industry to prevent mortality from cannibalism and minimise injurious pecking, vent pecking, aggressive pecking at the head and all forms of feather pecking, although the practice does not completely reduce the damage. There are alternatives to beak trimming, but they have not been reliable in preventing injurious pecking. However, beak trimming should not be used without providing birds enriched indoor and outdoor environments. Even when birds are beak trimmed, providing enriched facilities is recommended. The two main methods of beak trimming are hot blade (HB) and infrared beak treatment (IRBT). HB trimming removes the beak tips and cauterises the beak stump. The IRBT method uses heat from an infrared lamp to treat the outer beak and the underlying tissue. Initially, the tips of the beak remain intact and then soften and wear as the bird uses its beak. In contrast, the HB method results in an open wound that takes 3 weeks to heal. Two major welfare issues arise from beak trimming. The first is loss of sensory input because of removal of or heat treatment of sensory receptors in the beak. The second issue is the potential for acute and chronic pain from severing or heat treatment of nerves. HB trimming initially results in acute pain but there is limited evidence for beak sensitivity in IRBT birds. The development of neuromas in the beak have been implicated as a cause of chronic pain after HB trimming. When birds are HB trimmed (one-half of upper beak; one-third of lower) in the first 10 days of life, neuromas will develop, but they will resolve, compared with birds trimmed at older ages. However, neuromas will not resolve in 10-day old birds if more than one-half of the beak is HB trimmed. While HB trimming is performed according to accreditation standards by removal of one-half the upper beak and one-third of the lower beak is considered excessive, it prevents beak regrowth and the need to subject birds to re-trimming and a second bout of acute pain from the beak wound. Current levels of IRBT to treat half of the beak using the vendors quality-assurance protocol have been implemented worldwide to ensure that neuroma formation is prevented; however, if severe levels of IRBT are used, acute pain and subsequent neuromas may persist. The main impact of beak trimming is how the bird uses its beak when it eats, drinks and pecks at other birds and the environment. Reduced feed intake after HB trimming indicates pain associated with pecking or difficulty in eating. HB-trimmed birds initially show an increase in listlessness and guarding behaviours and increased inactivity, which indicates pain. IRBT and HB-trimmed birds have fewer aggressive pecks at the head, and there is a reduction in severe feather pecking and better feather scores, which results in a large reduction in mortality. Depending on the severity of IRBT and HB trimming, the advantage of using IRBT is improved welfare.

Comparison between infrared and hot-blade beak trimming methods in white and brown pullets: performance, organ and bone development

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate infrared beak trimming versus hot-blade beak trimming on performance, organ and bone development of laying pullets, using 240 birds, at 0-16 weeks of age, from two strains (white layer - Hy-Line W36 and brown layer - Hy-Line Brown). Infrared debeaking was performed on the first day of life in the hatchery, whereas hot-blade beak trimming was performed at eight days of age. Zootechnical performance at 6, 9, 12 and 15 weeks of age was analyzed. At the end of the trial, one Bird per experimental unit was euthanized for liver, gizzard, proventriculus, heart and small intestine relative weight evaluation. Both tibiotarsus were collected to measure bone breaking resistance, bone mineral content and bone densitometry. There was higher body weight and feed intake in both bird strains submitted to infrared beak trimming. Additionally, hot-blade white layers presented lower body development and feed intake. The debeaking methods did not influence relative organ weights or tibiotarsus parameters evaluated. We conclude that the infrared beak trimming method promotes better pullet body development than the conventional hot-blade method, improving feed intake, without compromising organ and bone development, being a more adequate debeaking method to be used in layer production.

Effects of beak trimming on the performance, beak length, behavior, and carcass traits of a local broiler breed reared in battery cages

This study investigated the effects of beak trimming on a local broiler breed. A total of 648 one-day-old birds were randomly allocated into three treatments: no trimming (NBT), infrared beak trimming (IRBT), and hot-blade beak trimming (HBBT). The performance, beak length, behavior, carcass traits, organ percentages, and meat quality were inspected. The body weight (BW) from 7 to 35 days in the IRBT group was significantly lower than that in the NBT group, and the BW from 7 to 49 days was lower than that in the HBBT group (p < .05). Compared with untrimmed birds, birds in the IRBT group had lower average daily feed intake (ADFI) from 15 to 21 days, and higher heart percentage and L* value in the breast muscle. The upper beak length at 28 and 49 days of age were longest in untrimmed birds, intermediate in birds in the HBBT group, and shortest in the IRBT groups (p <.05). No evidence was found that HBBT caused changes in performance, behavior, carcass traits, organ percentages, and meat quality except for lower change in spleen percentage. Taken together, IRBT had more influence at inhibiting early BW, ADFI, and upper beak length than HBBT in the local broiler breed.

Effects of Management Strategies on Non-Beak-Trimmed Laying Hens in Furnished Cages that Were Reared in a Non-Cage System

Beak trimming in laying hens limits the negative consequences of injurious pecking, but could be prohibited by future regulations. This study assessed a combination of management strategies during the rearing period (objects, perches, music, human presence) and laying period (scratching mats, objects, feed fiber supplementation) to raise non-beak-trimmed animals. The welfare and laying performances of beak-trimmed (T) and non-beak-trimmed (NT) ISA Brown birds were compared between groups with (E) or without (NE) these strategies, with or without fiber supplementation in the diet during laying period. Fiber supplementation did not provide any benefit on pecking-related problems. In comparison with NT-NE birds, NT-E birds had lower mortality, were less fearful of a novel object, and had a better feather cover, without a negative impact on productivity (same laying rate and egg quality). Although this study showed advantages of beak trimming (T birds had higher body weights, laying rates and lower hen mortality than NT birds), it highlighted related problems (increasing pullet mortality, decreasing early weights and increasing beak defects). This study proposes practical solutions to limit the consequences of injurious pecking in non-beak-trimmed animals.

The effect of beak tissue sloughing and post-treatment beak shape on the productivity of infrared beak-treated layer pullets and hens

Infrared beak treatment (IRBT) results in a change in beak shape; however, it is unclear what effect variations in post-treatment beak shape have on young pullets. Additionally, the impact of sloughing of the treated beak tissue is not fully understood. Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of beak tissue sloughing and post-treatment beak shape on the productivity of infrared beak-treated Lohmann Brown (LB) and Lohmann LSL-Lite (LW) pullets and hens. Birds were treated on day of hatch and IRBT equipment settings were adjusted to create 4 specific beak shapes: shovel (SHV), step (STP), standard (STAN), and an untreated sham control (C). Experiment 1 pullets (n = 160) were housed in cages from 1 to 29 d of age and had access to water through chick founts or 360° nipple drinkers (2 replicate cages per treatment). Data collected included body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE), and water disappearance (WD). Experiment 2 pullets (n = 640) were housed in floor pens from 1 d to 18 wk of age (2 replicate pens per treatment) then conventional cages during the laying period (6 replicate cages per treatment). Data collected included BW, FI, egg production, and egg quality. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED (SAS® 9.4) and differences were significant when P ≤ 0.05. During early life, the IRBT treatments and sloughing had minor effects on FI, FE, and BW. At 4 wk of age, STAN pullets were lighter than C pullets; however, differences were no longer apparent after this age. Pullets with STP or STAN beak shapes had lower WD than C pullets when allowed access to water via nipple drinkers but this did not result in reduced growth. Throughout the laying period, SHV hens laid more saleable eggs than C hens, with no other effects on production. Overall, variations in beak shape and sloughing of the beak tissue had minimal impacts on the productivity of LW and LB pullets and hens.

Feed particle selection and nutrient intake altered by pecking stone consumption and beak length in free-range laying hens

The present study investigated the effects of pecking stones on feeding behaviour of hens from 16 to 46 weeks of age. Eighteen flocks of Hy-Line Brown hens were housed in 2 commercial free-range housing systems. Farm A housed 10 flocks of beak trimmed (infrared beak treatment) hens in fixed sheds. Farm B housed 8 flocks of hens with intact beaks in mobile sheds. On each farm, flocks were equally assigned to control groups (no access to pecking stones) and treatment groups (access to pecking stones). Data were evaluated every 10 weeks. At each time point, 10 hens per flock were housed in individual pens, and each hen was provided with 250 g of mash diet and ad libitum water for 24 h. After 24 h, feed samples were collected and used to determine 24-h feed intake. Nutrient and particle selection was measured by subtracting nutrients and particles present in the leftover feed from the vaules obtained in the offered feed and expressed the change (Δ). In addition, pecking stone consumption was recorded for each flock. Data were analysed separately for each farm using fixed effects of pecking stone availability and hen age. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients and linear regression models were constructed to evaluate the relationship of beak length and pecking stone usage, discrete mean particle size (dMEAN) consumption (Δ dMEAN), and Δ nutrient intake. Hens with access to pecking stones consumed significantly lower quantities of large feed particles (>2.8 mm) on farm A (P = 0.029) and selected significantly more fine particles, on farm B (P = 0.013). Overall, positive relationships (P = 0.001) between beak length and pecking stone consumption, Δ dMEAN, and Δ phosphorus consumption were observed. In conclusion, pecking stone consumption resulted in reduced selection and consumption of feed particles in hens housed on both farms. Further research is warranted to investigate the effect of pecking stones on sensory innervation of the beak.

An analysis of beak shape variation in two ages of domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) using landmark-based geometric morphometrics

The objective of this study was to assess beak shape variation in domestic turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and determine the effects of age, sex, and beak size on beak shape variation using geometric morphometrics. Dorsal and right lateral images were taken of 2442 turkeys at 6 and 18.5 weeks of age. Landmarks were digitized in tpsDig in three analyses of the dorsal upper mandible, lateral upper mandible, and lateral lower mandible shape of each turkey at both ages. The coordinate data were then subjected to a principal components analysis (PCA), multivariate regression, and a canonical variates analysis (CVA) with a Procrustes ANOVA in MorphoJ. For the dorsal images, three principal components (PCs) showed beak shape variation ranged from long, narrow, and pointed to short, wide, and blunt upper mandibles at both ages (6 weeks: 95.36%, 18.5 weeks: 92.21%). Three PCs showed the lateral upper mandible shape variation ranged from long, wide beaks with long, curved beak tips to short, narrow beaks with short, pointed beak tips at both ages (6 weeks: 94.91%, 18.5 weeks: 94.33%). Three PCs also explained 97.80% (6 weeks) and 97.11% (18.5 weeks) of the lateral lower mandible shape variation ranging from wide and round to narrow and thin lower mandibles with superior/inferior beak tip shifts. Beak size accounted for varying proportions of the beak shape variation (0.96-54.76%; P < 0.0001) in the three analyses of each age group. For all the analyses, the CVA showed sexual dimorphism in beak shape (P < 0.0001) with female upper mandibles appearing wider and blunter dorsally with long, curved beak tips laterally. Whereas male turkey upper mandibles had a narrow, pointed dorsal appearance and short, pointed beak tips laterally. Future applications of beak shape variability could have a genetic and welfare value by incorporating beak shape variation to select for specific turkey beak phenotypes as an alternative to beak treatment.

Morphologically abnormal beaks observed in chickens that were beak-trimmed at young ages

A survey of beak morphological abnormalities was performed on 6,201 chickens (egg-laying hens and chickens for meat production belonging to 25 flocks) brought to a poultry processing plant. The observed abnormalities varied among flocks with occurrence rates ranging from 0.48 to 46.67%. The occurrence was high in flocks subjected to beak trimming and varied significantly according to chicken breed, with the highest rates of abnormalities in a certain chicken breed. The most widely observed abnormalities were: 1) uneven growth of the upper and lower mandibles, mostly with elongation of the lower mandible (accounting for 64.8% of all abnormalities); 2) misalignment of the upper and lower mandibles, causing lateral deviation or crossing (16.3%); 3) sharp or jagged deformities of the mandible tips (10.1%); 4) permanent open beak, a deformity in which the beak did not close completely even when closed (5.8%); and 5) formation of tubercular swellings at the tips of the upper or lower mandibles (3.1%). This is the first report on the occurrence of beak abnormalities in beak-trimmed poultry in Japan.