Blinders (poultry)
Devices fitted to poultry to block their forward vision
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In pheasants, blinders have been shown to reduce the incidence of birds pecking each other and damage to the feathers or skin.
In laying hens, blinders have been shown to reduce feather pecking, improve food utilisation (due to less spillage) and increase egg production.
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Welfare concerns
Blinders which require a pin to pierce the nasal septum and hold the device in position almost certainly cause pain to the bird. In the UK, the use of these devices is illegal on welfare grounds. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in their Codes of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Laying Hens, states: "The Welfare of Livestock (Prohibited Operations) Regulations 1982 (S.I. 1982 No.1884) prohibits ...the fitting of any appliance which has the object or effect of limiting vision to a bird by a method involving the penetration or other mutilation of the nasal septum."
Studies on pin-less blinders indicate these devices are at least temporarily distressful to the birds. In pheasants, fitting blinders causes an increase in head shaking and scratching, and increases in damage to the beak and nostrils of the bird. Fitting pin-less blinders to laying hens leads to reduced activity, increased resting, adjustment problems in feeding, stereotypic head shaking and protracted displacement neck preening for a month after fitting. In another study on laying hens, mortality was greater among hens wearing blinders compared to hens that had been beak-trimmed.