Feather pecking is one of the most significant welfare problems in laying hen production, causing injury, pain and sometimes death, and is driven by a complex of genetic, environmental and management factors.
Feather pecking represents a welfare crisis for both the pecking and the pecked bird. The perpetrator is typically an anxious, understimulated bird redirecting frustrated foraging and exploration drives toward a socially acceptable target. The victim experiences pain from pecking, often escalating wound injury, and the secondary stress of being a target within a confined group. Beak trimming — the industry's primary control method — removes part of a sensory organ rich in nerve endings and causes pain of its own. Addressing root causes through genetics, management and environment is the welfare-led alternative.