Beak trimming of laying hens and turkeys to prevent injurious pecking is widespread but controversial, and ongoing research is developing alternatives that could eliminate the need for the practice.
Beak trimming addresses a real welfare problem — injurious feather pecking in large poultry flocks can cause serious harm and death — but it does so by causing another welfare harm: pain, altered beak sensitivity, and difficulty feeding with a shortened beak. Infrared trimming at hatch is less acutely painful than hot-blade methods but evidence on chronic pain and beak sensitivity after either method is mixed. The welfare ideal is to eliminate the need for beak trimming by addressing root causes: providing adequate space, environmental enrichment, and using genetics less prone to injurious pecking. Countries that have banned beak trimming show it is commercially achievable with the right system design.