A poultry processing system configured for stunting or retarding growth of poultry claws, beaks or bills, the system including: an energy delivery system comprising: an RF synthesizer circuit configured to generate an RF electric signal; a preamplification stage (402, 404) operably coupled to an output of the RF synthesizer circuit, wherein the preamplification stage (402, 404) comprises an attenuator (412, 416); a board controller operably coupled to the attenuator (412, 416) of the preamplification stage (402, 404), wherein the board controller is configured to modify a gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); an output connection configured to provide a low-power signal or a high-power signal based on at least the RF electric signal and the gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); and an RF applicator operably coupled to the output connection, wherein the low-power signal or the high-power signal is configured to be provided to the RF applicator configured to couple an alternating low-power or high-power RF electric field to animal tissue for respectively sensing the presence of, or processing, the animal tissue, wherein the animal tissue is a poultry claw, beak or bill, wherein the board controller is configured to: provide a first gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) to provide the low-power signal at the output connection and measuring a baseline return loss value corresponding to no animal tissue in a processing position of the RF applicator; and provide a second gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) having a lower magnitude than a magnitude of the first gain setting to provide the high-power signal at the output connection in response to detecting a return loss value exceeding a loss threshold value, wherein a return loss value exceeding the loss threshold value corresponds to animal tissue in the processing position of the RF applicator. an energy delivery system comprising: an RF synthesizer circuit configured to generate an RF electric signal; a preamplification stage (402, 404) operably coupled to an output of the RF synthesizer circuit, wherein the preamplification stage (402, 404) comprises an attenuator (412, 416); a board controller operably coupled to the attenuator (412, 416) of the preamplification stage (402, 404), wherein the board controller is configured to modify a gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); an output connection configured to provide a low-power signal or a high-power signal based on at least the RF electric signal and the gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); and an RF applicator operably coupled to the output connection, wherein the low-power signal or the high-power signal is configured to be provided to the RF applicator configured to couple an alternating low-power or high-power RF electric field to animal tissue for respectively sensing the presence of, or processing, the animal tissue, an RF synthesizer circuit configured to generate an RF electric signal; a preamplification stage (402, 404) operably coupled to an output of the RF synthesizer circuit, wherein the preamplification stage (402, 404) comprises an attenuator (412, 416); a board controller operably coupled to the attenuator (412, 416) of the preamplification stage (402, 404), wherein the board controller is configured to modify a gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); an output connection configured to provide a low-power signal or a high-power signal based on at least the RF electric signal and the gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416); and an RF applicator operably coupled to the output connection, wherein the low-power signal or the high-power signal is configured to be provided to the RF applicator configured to couple an alternating low-power or high-power RF electric field to animal tissue for respectively sensing the presence of, or processing, the animal tissue, wherein the animal tissue is a poultry claw, beak or bill, wherein the board controller is configured to: provide a first gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) to provide the low-power signal at the output connection and measuring a baseline return loss value corresponding to no animal tissue in a processing position of the RF applicator; and provide a second gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) having a lower magnitude than a magnitude of the first gain setting to provide the high-power signal at the output connection in response to detecting a return loss value exceeding a loss threshold value, wherein a return loss value exceeding the loss threshold value corresponds to animal tissue in the processing position of the RF applicator. provide a first gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) to provide the low-power signal at the output connection and measuring a baseline return loss value corresponding to no animal tissue in a processing position of the RF applicator; and provide a second gain setting of the attenuator (412, 416) having a lower magnitude than a magnitude of the first gain setting to provide the high-power signal at the output connection in response to detecting a return loss value exceeding a loss threshold value, wherein a return loss value exceeding the loss threshold value corresponds to animal tissue in the processing position of the RF applicator.