Feather pecking is a serious welfare problem in laying hens that causes injury, stress, and death, and is driven by multiple interacting environmental factors.
Feather pecking represents a breakdown of natural behavior in confined environments. Hens evolved to range widely, forage, and establish stable social hierarchies in small groups. Commercial housing often denies all of these needs. The resulting stress redirects into feather pecking behavior. Solving the problem requires addressing root causes: providing enrichment, reducing stocking density, improving lighting, and ensuring nutritional adequacy. Beak trimming, while reducing injury, does not solve the underlying welfare problem.