Installing poultry processing equipment and stations on a small scale for the rapid slaughter of broilers.
Written by Ann Gordon
Perhaps the biggest distinction between Cornish Cross broilers and laying hens is how we tie them up. Cornish Cross broilers are raised for our dinner plates, unlike layers that are raised for their eggs. Considering an animal as livestock does not in any way mean that we care less about it or stop worrying about its welfare. It simply means that we relate to them much differently. We avoid naming them and maintain an emotional separation between them and us. They are not pets. This understanding makes handling much easier for most owners of small flocks.
Whether you’re taking your Cornish Cross chicken off the farm to a commercial processor, hiring a neighbor, or butchering and cutting it yourself, there’s always that moment when you realize its fate is in your hands. I’m glad I still have that moment. I pause to pray that their slaughter will be humane and that their death will be swift. As a transplanted city girl, it took me some real effort to get to this point.
When I prepared for this post, I decided not to write an article about how poultry is slaughtered, crushed and eviscerated. Many articles and videos already exist on this topic. Instead, I’ll share how I go about planning a processing event and what I do to make the job easier, more time efficient, and faster to clean up.
I follow USDA exempt processing standards and recommend this video that demonstrates those standards. Two operations involve very large rolled steel kill cones to immobilize and slaughter broilers by severing the carotid artery, making sure not to puncture or cut their esophagus, preventing bacterial contamination. I use the method of electrocution with a brain stick. Death is immediate, which promotes more extensive bleeding and easier removal of feathers.
Preparing for the operation
For some people, processing Cornish Cross broilers marks the day when family and friends join in on the task, making it possible to process upwards of 100 chickens in a single day. I live on my own and do all my processing so my planning has made all the difference in raising and processing Cornish Cross broilers. Otherwise, without effective planning and procedures, it will be difficult to accomplish on your own.
My first step is to choose the processing day based on the readiness of the broiler. In the fourth week, I began weighing a sample of broilers twice a week, noting their weight and general progress. This requires a bit of record keeping but pays off big in allowing you to note how many poultry to tackle first; You don’t guess, and the final product will be more consistent in weight and easier to handle.
Like me, almost all owners of small flocks treat their broilers as whole chickens. Depending on how many broilers I want in the size of my rotisserie or skillet, I mark an “R” or “F” on the back feathers of the bird with a Sharpie. This is nothing more than my method for determining which birds progress faster and will achieve live weight at 6 weeks for roasts (5.5 to 6 lbs.) or live weight at 8 weeks for fryers (7.5 to 8 lbs.). Some broilers gain weight quickly and are good candidates for broiling at six weeks, while others are a little slower but catch on by the eighth week. This approach makes it easy for me to quickly identify which birds to treat and when.
Once I’ve decided to tackle broilers on any date, it’s time to check and make sure I have all the necessary supplies needed. There’s nothing worse than starting a treat only to find that you’re short on shrink bag zip ties or your propane tank runs out midway through scalding. Like many of us, I’ve learned the hard way to do this upfront just in case I need to replenish my propane tank, order extra bags, pick up some zip ties, etc.
A lazy sunny day is a great time to check kill cones, sterilize refrigerated containers, sharpen knives, and make sure the fridge has enough room to handle the number of birds scheduled to be treated. The automatic plucking machine is pulled out, its tub rinsed and turned on, just to make sure it works.
Hand tools
Over the years of processing broilers, I’ve been able to incorporate a number of elements that make things run a little easier. Two items in particular have proven to be real time savers. One such item is the stainless steel lung remover. Just reach it into the cavity of the oven, and it quickly removes the lungs completely and also scrapes the skin of the broiler, removing feathers or bulbs that the plucking machine missed. I am now using ring pliers to tighten the shrink bags instead of using zip ties. Simply roll up the neck of the bag with the broiler inside, and press a loop around the twist. It is faster and more professional.
Fast-setting wire exercise pen as a trapping pen for broilers to be slaughtered. It is easy to set up, disassemble and store at the end of the treatment day. It is set up next to the Kill Cones stand on top of a small compost bin. I can easily grab a pair of broilers from the wire pen, put them in the kill cones, and send them off.
Once bled, both broilers can be heated at the same time and then put into the automatic plucking machine together. When I process one grill on my garden kitchen countertop, the other is kept in a plastic dish pan inserted into the sink as I go down the processing line. It’s easy to lift the plate tray out of the sink, rinse the grill I’m processing, bag it and put it in an ice water cooler. Broilers are kept separate using a utensil, and the area can be easily disinfected without cross-contamination between processed broilers, which is critical in containing foodborne pathogens if present.
I have found that using a surgical scalpel is most effective in cutting the carotid artery cleanly. Instead of sharpening it, I just replace it with a sterilized blade after treating 25 birds. A rarely used stainless steel asparagus steamer—10 inches high by 7 inches wide with a glass lid—serves as a pot for necks, hearts, livers, and gizzards, as a future treat for two Springer Spaniels.
An 8-quart stainless steel bowl lined with a plastic shopping bag easily holds the entrails of two broilers.
The stainless steel lidded trash can with BPA-free plastic liner has been a recent addition that makes gut disposal easy. Once the broiler is done, stand on the lid arm and drop the plastic bag of guts into the garbage bag. The lid closes and no flies or wasps collect in the can.
The broiler is heated in a custom 30 quart aluminum pot with thermometer heated over a propane burner with flame regulator.
Perhaps the absolute best addition to my grilling tackle is the garden kitchen that I built on a 5 by 8 foot deck covered with an attached grill stand. The 24″ x 60″ counter is a commercial stainless steel prep counter and stainless steel sink measuring 20 square inches deep along with the hinged sprayer faucet. I modified the plumbing on the faucet to accept a garden hose so it works just like a kitchen faucet.
The entire process kitchen is made of NSF stainless steel. It is easy to keep sterilized during processing and offers double duty as it has easy access to the raised bed garden complex and berry orchard for cleaning vegetables and fruits. It’s also a great place to fill seed trays and sow seeds on a sunny spring day. I can handle broilers in the rain or the hot sun and can honestly say I don’t know how I did without it. The setup will support my state’s exemption for processing broilers to farmers’ market customers without meat inspection.
sending process
The day before processing is quick and easy setup because all items used are meant for processing and stored separately in a tote. I simply empty the bag and put the items on the counter. The pluck is already ready, complete with propane tank, burner, and burner bowl. Kill cones are sterilized and attach to the frame above the small compost bin, and a wire exercise pen is placed next to it for easy access.
Broilers scheduled to be processed in the broiler the day before are separated and their food reserved after 6pm, emptying the crop and guts, limiting the possibility of rupture during processing, which if ruptured could result in fecal contamination from the carcass.
On the day of processing, it’s relatively simple. In groups of two, broilers are slaughtered, boiled, plucked, and eviscerated. After rinsing, place each grill into a zip-lining shrink bag and place in an ice water cooler. The broiler is later transferred to the refrigerator and kept for 36 hours to rest. Next, the broiler chicken packed in bags is dipped in 150-degree water, shrinking the bags, and then placed in the freezer.
With this approach to processing, I can easily process 20-25 chicks a day depending on how many breaks I take. Cleaning is as quick and easy as setting up. Preparing, organizing and putting together a plan can be hard work outside the broiler’s processing.
Ann Gordon he Backyard chicken owner with a humble chicken operation that includes laying hens and Cornish cross broilers. And like many of you, she doesn’t sell eggs or meat — all produce is for her own personal consumption. She has long been a poultry farmer and writes from her personal experience as a city girl who moved to the suburbs to raise a few chickens and now lives in a rural area. I’ve had a lot of experience with chickens over the years and learned a lot along the way – some the hard way. She had to think outside the box in some situations but stuck to the tried-and-true tradition for others. Anne lives in Mount Cumberland, Tennessee, with two English companions, Jack and Lucy.