De Beaking

Debeaking, also called beak trimming, is a partial removal of the beak of poultry, especially layer hens, when layer hens are confined to a chicken house, farmers generally trim their beaks to prevent them from pecking (and possibly hurting) one another. While the term debeak implies that the entire beak is removed, in fact usually less than a third of the upper beak is trimmed, and not the whole beak.