Inconclusion,itisfairtosaythatwedonotknowhowmuch
discomfortorpainbirdsexperienceafterbeaktrimmingbut
in acaringsociety theyshould begiventhebenefit ofthe
doubt.Topreventcannibalismandfeatherpeckingofpoultry,
goodhusbandryisessentialandincircumstanceswherelight
intensity cannot be controlled the only alternative is to
attempttobreedbirdswhichdonotexhibitthesedamaging
traits.^11
Thereisalsoanotherpossiblesolution.Debeaking,whichis
routinely performedinanticipationof cannibalismbymost
producers,greatlyreducestheamountofdamageachicken
candoto otherchickens.Butitobviously doesnothingto
reducethestressandovercrowdingthatleadtosuchunnatural
cannibalisminthefirstplace.Old-fashionedfarmers,keeping
a smallflockwithplentyof space,had noneedto debeak
their birds.
Once,chickenswereindividuals;ifachickenbulliedothers
(andthis couldhappen,thoughitwasnotthegeneralrule)
thatbirdwouldberemovedfromtheflock.Similarly,birds
who fell sick or were injured could be attended to, or if
necessary,quicklykilled.Nowonepersonlooksaftertensof
thousandsofbirds.AUnitedStatessecretary ofagriculture
wrote enthusiastically
about how one person could care for 60,000 to 75,000
broilers.^12 PoultryWorldrecentlypublishedafeature story
on the broiler unit of David Dereham, who takescare of
88,000broilers,housedunderoneroof,allbyhimself,and
farms sixtyacresoflandaswell!“Takecare of”doesnot
meanwhatitusedto,sinceifapoultryfarmerweretospend
nomorethanonesecondadayinspectingeachbird,itwould
takemorethantwenty-fourhoursadaymerelytocomplete