money.Theunnaturalwayinwhichthebirdsarekeptcauses
the vices, but to control them the poultry
farmermustmaketheconditionsstillmoreunnatural. Very
dimlighting isone wayofdoingthis.Amoredrasticstep,
though one now very widely used in the industry, is
“debeaking.”
FirststartedinSanDiegointhe1940s,debeakingusedtobe
performedwithablowtorch.Thefarmerwouldburnawaythe
upperbeaksofthechickenssothattheywereunabletopick
at each other’s feathers. A modified soldering iron soon
replacedthiscrudetechnique,andtodayspeciallydesigned
guillotinelike devices with hot blades are the preferred
instrument. The infant chick’s beak is inserted into the
instrument, and the hot blade cuts off the end of it. The
procedureiscarried out veryquickly,aboutfifteen birdsa
minute.Suchhastemeansthatthetemperatureandsharpness
ofthebladecanvary,resultinginsloppycuttingandserious
injury to the bird:
Anexcessivelyhotbladecausesblistersinthemouth.Acold
ordullblademaycausethedevelopmentofafleshy,bulb-
likegrowth ontheend ofthemandible.Such growthsare
very sensitive.^6
JosephMauldin,a UniversityofGeorgiaextension poultry
scientist,reportedonhisfieldobservationsataconferenceon
poultry health:
There are many cases of burned nostrils and severe
mutilationsduetoincorrectprocedureswhichunquestionably
influence acute and chronic pain, feeding behavior and
productionfactors.Ihaveevaluatedbeaktrimmingqualityfor