Plumage loss in medium‐bodied hybrid hens: The effect of beak trimming and cage design

Abstract

1. Plumage loss was assessed by visual scoring in 288, 78‐week‐old hens, housed as groups of four in battery cages, which differed in the design of the cage front and the position of the nipple drinkers.

2. Half the hens had undergone beak trimming at 18 weeks, but in many cases regrowth had occurred.

3. Plumage damage and loss was significantly reduced in beak‐trimmed birds compared with birds with normal beaks. Tier and cage design had no effect.

4. This finding supports the idea that feather pecking is the important factor in causing plumage damage, rather than abrasion.

5. A comparison between 64 birds in which beak regrowth had occurred, and 64 in which it remained truncated, showed that both groups had similar plumage scores.

6. It appears to be the beak‐trimming procedure which is important; subsequent regrowth being irrelevant.