Mums planning to debeak hens with with soldering iron- I am horrified!

[Stickwithit]

My mum has five chickens. Three of them are pecking the other two horribly. They have barely any feathers left and their kin looks so sore.

She feels she has tried everything: treatment for mites (antibiotics from vet), making their (large) run more interesting to alleviate any boredom (branches, hiding places, cabbages hanging from string); isolating the trouble makers, isolating the pecked hens.

Nothing has worked, as soon as they are reunited the pecking starts again.

Our local farmer has suggested blunting their beaks with a soldering iron! He claims if done carefully, and if only the end of the beaks are done this won?t hurt them and will make their beaks less sharp. Mums claims she has contacted her vet who has said it is an old fashioned but effective strategy!!

I can?t believe this- surely its barbaric.

Has anyone done this or heard of this being done outside of battery situations? Is it ok?

Chickens. Making them watch Eastenders is cruelty though . Mine much prefer Countryfile.

What would worry me as equally a spotential pain from clipping/trimming the beaks would be that the hens are obviously exhibiting this behaviour because they are not content and so if the beaks are altered, they'd still be miserable, but just not able (maybe!) to inflict damage upon one another.

We recently had to restrict our 5 previously free range hens to a large run. It resulted in pecking by one hen to the others and she has previously not shown this behaviour. We are moving in August anyway and unable to take the hens with us, so the plan was for our long time chicken keeping friend to take them in August. We decided to give her two of our girls earlier, the pecker and her closest friend. This means that the two that have left have a huge garden of around an acre full of shurbs and lovely things to do, plus a cockerel and they are very happy. The three that remain with us are much more contented in their run and although I hate to part with them, I suspect they will also be going to my friend's fairly soon, as I know they will be much happier there.

I wouldn't have hens again unless they could free range, they are so much happier than in a run.

I agree about the space thing. Feisty hens need more space and a cockerel. Some are happy being confined in a run, but they're all different and have different personalities.