Chicken Processing - Good (Plucking) Fun

Processing Day... Something we had both looked forward to for 8 weeks and at the same time something we had quietly started to dread as the comfortable routine of raising animals on the farm took root. While we were ready in our resolve - that does not mean our metal would not be tested.
Anyhow - the morning of processing started with a wonderful sunrise to the east and a thick fog in the field. Heading outside the chickens clucked and croaked (the best cocka-doodle-doo they could muster at this age) fully expecting my visit to bring them food. After I set up the slaughter stations and got the scalder water up to temperature - it was time to head over to the pen for the first 2 chickens.
Now - anyone who knows me - knows I'm not a deeply religious person... but last Friday as my boots squished in the morning dew and I approached the pen in what seemed a Disney level of tranquility in a calmer morning than "normal" - I took the time to take pause and ask a higher power for the strength to push through the task at hand... and with that - I opened the top of the pen and reached for the first two large roosters I could find.
The identification of targets was easy - they all knew me as the "Great Hand that Gives" - so over they came to greet me and my morning bounty of feed... but when there was no feed - and I seemed to be groping more than usual (throughout their 8 weeks of life we made sure to handle them a lot so on this day they would not be aggressive with me)... quickly they became difficult to catch. Never the less - after I figured out how to grab two chicken legs at a time - I had two VERY loud birds hanging upside down in my hands as I walked across the yard to the prep area.

The picture shows the stage before the actors joined - all the way on the left is station 1 and we work clockwise...
Station 1 is the "killing cones" (I didn't name them) - this is where the chickens are placed head down with their head and some neck extending out the bottom. Chickens seem to naturally "relax" when they are upside down - so they just sorta slide down in the cones and hang there. The wheelbarrow is full of sawdust and wood shavings to absorb the blood... which comes from their neck... which is the worst part of the process. One quick slice - honestly with a sharp razor I'm not sure they really "fell" much and then - they are "gone" very quickly - blood keeps running - they "twitch" a fair amount after they are dead as the neurons fire randomly in their bodies - and that's it - finale.
The next stop isn't in this picture yet - but it's a screen on 2 sawhorses - it's a rinsing station where the bird gets cleaned off with the hose.
Next stop is the scalder pot - 135 or so degree water - up and down they go - until the big feathers at the wingtips just come right out (some people have said this step "smells" - didn't notice it).
Next step is the chicken plucker tub - 30 seconds with a water spray yields a naked bird (no hand plucking here)...
Then on to the processing station - and finally when it looks like a better than store bought bird - into the cooler with ice water to chill.

Once the chickens were in the cones - I paused only for a moment - gave thanks - wished them well - and started in on the processing. It's like any unpleasant task - the first time is the worst... but you become somewhat numb or desensitized to the slicing part - and keep telling yourself that these chickens had the best life they could have under your stewardship and that's the best you can offer. You do the deed - and you move on... that's part of farm life.
As you can see - there is a fair amount of activity in the process - and the ground reflects the trafficing.
On my first day - I alone processed 16 birds from start to finish - in about 4 hours... not exactly record speed. So that prompted a call to my mother-in-law and father-in-law (some might say - desperate times call for desperate measures)... and by bribing them with a free rib dinner and lots of grilled veggies - I got myself some helpers for the second half of chickens.
So it was Sunday when we got into another round - offering a one day reprieve for the birds that were left (although Saturday and Sunday morning were odd - the rooster that had started to learn to crow was obviously in the freezer now)... We got started again first thing Sunday morning.

With 2 dedicated people inside sealing the birds in vacuum bags after plucking out any small feather ends that might have slipped through the plucker - they made fast work of the birds as they came out of processing as "food" - and ensured lots of space remained in the cooler.
Tim was also very helpful - he ran the "raw materials" end of the line - gatherer, slicer, scalder and sometimes plucker... I then helped with the plucker and over the next 16 chickens became very proficient at butchering them. So - what took one person 4 hours on a Friday - now with some experience to provide direction and another set of helping hands on the processing line - we were able to process 16 chickens in 2 hours.
The economies of scale still stand - I believe - and next year with 2 more hands in the production line as well as some refinement of the process configuration - I think we should be able to easily hit 30 chickens an hour.

At that rate - I think - next year we will be taking orders for somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 birds for people.

Comments

[Amy (lilme2_99)]

VERY informational for my husband and I, who are about to spend our day handling our first butchering experience of 11 birds. Actually, he's cleaning up breakfast and I was googling for the "proper scalding temperature"---we came across your post, and now I....... ummm......"HE" has decided he probably will WANT and NEED my help----grrrrrrrrrr. I am not really interested in helping, but I don't think I'll have a choice.

THANKS again for sharing this post!
(and hey----by the end of the day, I'm sure I'll be able to post my OWN butchering experience)

-Amy (NW WI)
http://skattebo-skattebo.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">skattebo-skattebo.blogspot.com

[Andy and Kelli]

amy - glad the post helped out (well - if it helped good - if it made you help - sorry) :)

How did you butchering experience go?

[Patti (Ramsey, MN)]

This is kind of funny because Amy's comments are almost exactly how this is going for me and John. I also thought this was VERY informational for me and John, as this Saturday, June 6, 2009, we will be handling our first butchering experience of 9 birds. Actually, I told him that he’ll have to do the butchering. Ummm……”HE” has decided he probably will WANT and NEED my help—-grrrrrrrrrr. I told everyone that I am not really interested in helping, but I don’t think I’ll have a choice. I'm not looking forward to the mess, but the eating should be GREAT! We can have BEER BUTT CHICKEN! We will have help from my oldest step-daughter and possibly my daughter and son-in-law. Hmmmm...maybe I can babysit the grandchildren while they take care of the chickens? Something to think about!

THANKS again for sharing this post!

[Andy]

@Patti - Thanks for the comments - and please swing back by and let me know how things worked out for you!
9 birds isn't too bad - it's a good number to start with.

[Patti (Ramsey, MN)]

It actually went better than we thought it would. It was: my husband John, me (Patti) and both of my step-daughters. We butchered, plucked and gutted 9 birds in 2 hours. I don't think that's too bad for 4 rookies. None of us have done this before. What do you think?

We were a little disappointed in the taste and we were thinking that maybe it was the type of birds we had. We had "Cornish Cross Broiler Chickens" and they were a little tough and gamey tasting. We cooked them on the grill 2 hours after processing.

Should we have waited longer, cooked them differently or what? We're not sure if it's worth doing again. We are going to experiment with cooking different ways before making our final decision.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Patti

[Alois Mugwagwa]

A very informative page

Thamk you