Beak Trimming Effects on Performance, Behavior and Welfare of Chickens: A Review
Beak trimming is a management practice that has long been employed by the poultry industry to reduce the deleterious effects of cannibalism and feather pecking among flockmates of chickens. Most studies of beak trimming have concentrated on the production and economic performance aspects of this practice. Because of the current animal welfare debate, behavioral and […]
Assessing Pain in Animals
Assessing the experience of pain in animals is a difficult task, yet one that is important in animal welfare research. Some approaches to pain assessment in animals are reviewed here. General qualities of pain scales and specific parameters suitable for clinical and experimental pain assessments are discussed. It is argued that pain assessment will progress […]
Chronic neurophysiological and anatomical changes associated with infrared beak treatment and their implications for laying hen welfare
The long-term effects of infra-red beak treatment (IRBT) in laying hens were investigated by examining beak-nerve function and anatomy over a range of ages. In IRBT and control (intact) birds that were ten, 30 or 50 weeks old, the responses of single sensory nerve fibres were recorded from the intramandibular nerve, which provides sensation to […]