CORE COMPETENCY 4

TRIM BEAK

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this competency, you must be able

to:

LO1. Carry-out Preparatory Activities

LO2. Trim Beak
LO3. Re-trim Beak
LO4. Carry-out Work to Completion
LEARNING OUTCOME No. 1: Carry-out Preparatory Activities
MATERIALS, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT IN BEAK TRIMMING

Materials

1. Medicine

 Analgesic is those drugs that mainly

provide pain relief.

 Blood coagulants a substance that aids or

produces coagulation.

2. Net - An openwork fabric made of threads or cords that are

woven or knotted together at regular intervals.

3. Pail - A round container that is open at the top and usually has a
handle.

Tools and Equipment

1. Debeaking Machine - A machine that is use in

beak trimming in the poultry house.

2. Sprayer - A jet of fine particles of liquid, as medicine, insecticide,

paint, perfume, etc., discharged from an atomizer or other device for
direct application to a surface.

3. Heater - Any of various apparatus for heating, especially for heating

water or the air in a room.

CONDITIONING THE BIRD

 Provide anti – stress preparation to the layers through the
drinking water at least 2 days before debeaking and 1 day after
debeaking is done.
 Antipyretic and Analgesic - to help in the blood clotting process during
debeaking.

Antipyretic- a drug that lowers fever, like aspirin or acetaminophen.

Analgesics - are drugs that alleviate pain without causing anesthesia.
These analgesics are usually used to relieve severe pain. Do the debeaking in
the late afternoon when most of them have laid or if possible, do the trimming
at night when they are less active. If available, use an electric debeaker or any
similar equipment as the hot metal blade cuts the beak, it burns and seals off
the portion, thus preventing the occurrence of bleeding.

Do's and Don'ts of Beak Trimming

1. Don’t beaks trim when birds are under any kind of stress.
2. Don't rush when beak trimming. Learn to do the job correctly, speed
will follow.
3. Do keep plenty of feed available after beak trimming.
4. Do keep water available, deep enough so the bird can drink easily.
5. Do keep blade clean and in good condition.

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFTEY STANDARDS

Republic Act No. 8485, Section 6 “An Act to Promote Animal Welfare in the
Philippines, Otherwise Known As “The Animal Welfare Act of 1998”

Section 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to

neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat any
animals or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horse fights, kill or
cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care sustenance or
shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not
expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal welfare. The killing of any
animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabao, horse,
deer and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the
following instances:

1. When it is done as part of the religious rituals of an established religion

or sect or ritual required by ethnic custom of indigenous cultural
communities: however, leaders shall keep records in cooperation with
the Committee on Animal Welfare;
2. When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable
disease as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarians;
3. When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery
suffered by the animal as determined and certified by a duly licensed
veterinarian;
4. When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a
human being; and
5. When done for the purpose of animal population control;
6. When animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or
experiments; and
7. Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and
certified by a licensed veterinarian. In all the above mentioned cases,
including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabao,
hones, deer and crocodiles, the killing of the animals shall be done
through humane procedures at all times. For this purpose, humane
procedures shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available
as may be determined and approved by the Committee. Only those
procedures approved by the Committee shall be used in killing of
animals.
 LEARNING OUTCOME NO. 2

Trim Beak

APPROPRIATE AGE IN BEAK TRIMMING

Beak trimming is the removal of part of the top and bottom beak of a bird. It
is also called “debeaking”, although this term is inaccurate as only part of the
beak is removed. It is an animal husbandry practice commonly carried out in
the poultry industry. Farm managers have their flocks beak-trimmed to blunt
the beaks enough to prevent the occurrence of damaging pecking.

Re-trimming may also be carried out if a bird’s beak grows back enough to
cause pecking damage. Birds are often re-trimmed at 8–12 weeks of age to
avoid this happening. Some non-trimmed adult birds may need trimming if a
pecking outbreak occur.

Why is beak trimming done?

Bird seriously injured through pecking

Beak trimming is performed early in the life of commercial hens to decrease

injuries caused by cannibalism, bullying, and feather and vent pecking. Birds
naturally peck at the environment and each other to investigate and work out
where they fit into the flock (pecking order). This behavior can become a
problem in commercial situations and many deaths have been recorded
among untrimmed hens. Feather pecking and cannibalism affects all birds in
all production systems. When laying birds are kept in systems that give
the opportunity for aggressive birds to contact many other birds, cannibalism
and feather pecking can spread rapidly through the flock and result in
injuries and mortality. Mortality of up to 25–30% of the flock can occur and
cause huge mortality and morbidity problems as well as financial losses to
the farmer.
When is beak trimming done?

Infrared beak trimming machine

Beak trimming is carried out at various ages depending on the preference of

the farm manager. The most common ages for birds to be beak-trimmed are:

 Day-old
 5–10 days old (most popular)
 4–6 weeks
 8–12 weeks
 Touch up trim of adult birds (mainly in alternative systems)

Beak Trimming Procedures

Procedures in beak trimming:

 To beak trim, hold the bird with the left hand and use the right hand to
grasp the upper neck near the head.
 Use the right forefinger to open the bird's mouth and leave the finger
over the lower beak and tongue during the beak trimming process. This
method makes it easier to slip the upper beak over the beak support.
 When the bird's beak is in position, hold the head square with the blade
and operate the foot pedal or power unit so that the cauterizing blade
cuts through the beak at a constant rate.
 Avoid burning the tongue. Bleeding can occur if beak trimming is done
too fast or the blade is not clean. Use only the amount of heat
necessary to stop bleeding and keep the beak against the blade a
sufficient time to obtain proper cauterization.

Do not move the bird's head from side to side or remove the bird's beak too
quickly and then re-cauterize repeatedly. If the bird's head is held at a high
angle, it will not rest on the beak support properly.
LEARNING OUTCOME No. 3: RE-TRIM BEAK

RE-TRIMMED PROCEDURES

Re-trimming is any beak trim after a bird has already been trimmed. It
is carried out to avoid or correct pecking problems due to beak regrowth.
Some farm managers will re-trim routinely as part of their bird management,
whereas others will re-trim only to improve poor or incorrect trimming done
previously.
Re-trimming often occurs 8-12 weeks of age and sometimes as a touch-
up for older birds. If proper beak trimming is carried out at an early age, there
is less need for re-trimming. Re-trimming may not be required in many birds
but is done to avoid subsequent cannibalism.

The technique may vary according to the age required of the bird. The
key thing beaks trimmers must do are:

1. Squarely place the beak on the cutting blade.

2. Use marks on the base plate, or use a blade stop, to align the blade to the
position where the cut is to be made.
3. Gently lower the blade on the top of the beak, or insert the beak into the
appropriate hole in the gauge plate.
4. Hold the beak in position for about two seconds to allow cauterization to
occur as the blade makes contact with the bottom bar.
5. Take care that the bird does not move during cutting.
6. Remove the beak residue from the blade regularly (at least every 15 to 30
minutes).

Restrained Birds to Facilitate Calm

When handling day-old birds, beak trim crews should be asked to pick
them up by one hand, wrapping the fingers gently around the chest and
abdomen. Birds can also be scooped with both hands cupped. Up to four
chickens can be handled in this manner, ensuring they do not spill from the
sides of the hands.

Five-to 10-day-old birds can be gently caught whilst still contained

within the brooding surrounds. Birds can be picked up by one or two legs and
transferred directly to the beak trimmer. With 7-to 10-day-olds, five birds can
be held in each hand. Alternatively, birds can be gently pushed into a large
laundry bucket held on an angle, or placed into crates before beak trimming.
The crates should be sufficient height for birds stand, be properly maintained
and prevent escape or entrapment. Crates should not tilt while birds are still
in the crate. Birds should not be held in crates for more than 2 hours before
beak trimming.
LEARNING OUTCOME No. 4: CARRY-OUT TO COMPLETION
Recordkeeping
Even if maintaining your small flock is a hobby, recordkeeping helps
keep track of your expenses. It can aid in monitoring the progress of your
flock. Records are important to the financial health of a business or
operation. Efficient and profitable keeping poultry operations are not
guaranteed by good record, but success is unlikely without them. Records are
essential tools for management to maintain a successful flock. Recordkeeping
involves keeping, filing, maintaining, and categorizing inventory, financial and
production information for your flock. This can be accomplished by hand
recording or by using computer software.
Recordkeeping is important. Records tell an owner or manager where
the business/operation has been and the direction in which it is
going. Records show the strength and weaknesses of the poultry
operation. They provide useful in site to financial stability for your flock. If
there are any shortcomings, records will show where adjustments can be
made. Along with showing where adjustments can be made and being a good
reference tool, there are several other purposes of recordkeeping.

Purposes of Records
1. Measure profit and access the financial ability of the Business/operation.
2. Provides data for business/operation analysis.
3. Assists in obtaining loans.
4. Measure the profitability of individual operation.
5. Assist in analysis of new investments.
6. Help prepare income tax returns.

Records that should be kept along with financial records include:

 Where, when, and types of birds acquired
 Poultry Registration Papers
 Age and number of birds in each flock
 Vaccination dates
 Vaccine expiration dates
Methods of Record keeping
Traditionally, growers have kept records by hand. In many cases, a
hand recording system is still useful for many growers. Yet, the use of
computers and computer software has expanded on farms in recent years
because of better record accuracy. The farm manager decides on the system
that best fits his/her situation. Gerloff et al. (1995) has listed advantages to
both hand records and computer records.

Hand-Recording System
 low initial out-of-pocket expense
 easy to start
 requires only pencil & paper
Computer Recording System
 more accurate & faster
 tax deductible as an expense
 much easier to create analysis