Feather pecking in farmed turkeys causes serious injuries, infection, and welfare deterioration, driven by the same management and enrichment failures that cause tail biting in pigs.
Turkey feather pecking is a management failure rather than an inevitable species characteristic. In well-managed flocks with adequate enrichment, space, and appropriate lighting, severe feather pecking is rare. The industry's reliance on beak trimming to manage a problem caused by inadequate environments treats the symptom rather than the cause, while imposing its own welfare cost. Consumer demand for higher-welfare turkey products - including those from slower-growing breeds with enriched, lower-density housing - is the most effective market-level lever for improving turkey welfare on a large scale.