Gentle M J, Thorp B H, Hughes B O
Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Midlothian.
Res Vet Sci. 1995 Mar;58(2):158-62. doi: 10.1016/0034-5288(95)90070-5.
A detailed anatomical study was made of the effects of trimming the upper beak of turkeys. The anatomy of the normal beak was compared with that of beaks from birds which had been trimmed by one of three methods, all commonly used in the poultry industry: the Bio-Beaker which passes an electric current through the premaxilla, secateurs, or a heated blade debeaker. All three resulted in the loss of significant amounts of beak tissue. By 42 days after trimming the beak had healed with extensive regrowth, including bone and cartilage formation, and the pattern of regrowth was similar after all three methods. In the normal bird the dermis at the tip of the upper beak contains large numbers of nerve fibres and sensory receptors, but in the beak-trimmed birds the dermal tissue, although well supplied with blood vessels, was devoid of afferent nerve fibres and sensory nerve endings. In contrast with the results of previous studies with older chickens there was no evidence of neuroma formation. Trimming with secateurs was the most precise method. The heated blade damaged additional tissue close to the position of the cut, and the BioBeaker produced the most tissue damage. Behavioural studies suggested that the effectiveness of beak trimming in controlling feather pecking depends on the extent of the tissue damage.
对修剪火鸡上喙的效果进行了详细的解剖学研究。将正常喙的解剖结构与采用家禽业常用的三种方法之一修剪过喙的鸟类的喙进行了比较：Bio-Beaker（通过电流穿过前颌骨）、剪钳或热刀片断喙器。这三种方法都会导致大量喙组织的损失。修剪喙后42天，喙已愈合并大量再生，包括骨骼和软骨形成，并且三种方法后的再生模式相似。在正常鸟类中，上喙尖端的真皮含有大量神经纤维和感觉感受器，但在修剪过喙的鸟类中，真皮组织虽然血管丰富，但缺乏传入神经纤维和感觉神经末梢。与之前对成年鸡的研究结果相反，没有证据表明会形成神经瘤。用剪钳修剪是最精确的方法。热刀片会损伤切口位置附近的额外组织，而Bio-Beaker造成的组织损伤最大。行为学研究表明，断喙在控制啄羽方面的有效性取决于组织损伤的程度。
