From time to time there may be a need to trim down your flock of birds or you might have raised some birds to process for the meat. There are several things to be aware of when you process birds.

I would not plan on processing many birds until I had some experience. You could do a few on your own or find a neighbor to help to gain experience or have someone with experience help you out first. You will need to plan the process, so you have adequate equipment. You will need tables (plastic or stainless), sharp knives and a sharpener to keep them sharp, kill cone(s), scald pot or tank, cooker to heat water and fuel bottles, thermometer to check temperatures, either a plucker or a way to pluck feathers, waste buckets, cooler or clean containers with cool water and ice to chill with, fresh water supply, shrink wrap bags, scales and labels and marker to write on labels, gloves to handle hot birds with and nitrile gloves to wear when removing innards from birds. Make sure your freezers that you are putting meat into are operating properly and have been on for several days ahead of the processing. You want to produce a safe, nutritious product.

Feed withdrawal

Feed should be withheld from chickens you will be processing between 8-12 hours. This will help reduce fecal contamination of the processed carcass.

Collection of Birds

Collect chickens for processing either late at night or early in the morning. The idea is to keep them as calm as possible before slaughter. If you catch birds late at night, you could link the feed withdrawal time with the collection of birds. Place them in a container that they will stay calm in and can be cleaned afterwards. If you use transportation crates these can be cleaned and normally will hold about 8-10 birds depending on the size of birds. Stack something under holding crates to prevent contamination. Handle birds with care as you remove them from holding crates so not to break feathers or bones.

Killing

If possible, use some type of killing cone. These prevent chickens from flopping around and do less damage to carcasses. You can either purchase these cones commercially or make cones from a plastic five-gallon bucket or a highway cone. There are several videos online about making cones from buckets. You need one cone per 5-10 birds you will be slaughtering daily. Fit the bird into the cone with the breast turned outward. You might need to pull head and neck down and outward of the cone. To properly bleed a chicken the jugular veins are cut. Trap the blood under the cone into a bucket with some water or place a tarp with mulch on top to collect blood. The collected mulch or blood in the bucket can be placed in a compost pile or used as a fertilizer.

Removing Feathers

Once the chicken has bled out it is removed from the cone and placed in a scald tank. This breaks down the proteins holding the feather in place and makes removing them easier. The scald temperature should be about 145-150°F. Some add a little dishwashing liquid to scald water. Scald for about 1-1.5 minutes. Don’t overdo as you will start cooking the carcasses. Once properly scalded, feathers can be removed by different methods. There is hand plucking, using a commercial tub plucker or a drill attached plucker. Either way collect feathers as they can be used for mulch or added to compost piles.

Processing

Remove the head, preen or oil gland, crop and innards. The heart, gizzard and liver can be saved for consumption. The gizzard should be cut open and the inner membrane peeled off and discarded. Remove the spleen and gall bladder from the liver. Make sure the lungs are removed from the inside of the carcass. Wash out carcass several times to remove any remaining blood or other items. Next the neck and feet are removed. Generally, the neck is simply cut off while the feet are cut off at the hock joint. The neck can be kept as an edible part. Sometimes chicken feet are cleaned, and the outer skin removed and used to make chicken soup. Inspect the carcass and remove any bruised areas. Collect all unusable innards into a discard bucket. These can be added to compost piles.

After the carcass has been rinsed, inspected and any bruises removed, place it in a chill tank or container containing water and ice. The purpose is to lower the temperature of the product to 40°F or lower. This may take several hours to accomplish. Once the correct temperature is reached the product can be removed, drained and packaged.

Packaging

Shrink wrapping bags should be purchased from a reliable source. These include bags, plastic tubing and zip ties. Remove the carcass from the chilled water, allow to drain and place into bag neck first. Insert tubing into chicken body, twist bag and place zip tie around bag and tubing securely. Place into heated water of 190-195°F for 3-5 seconds. Be sure to use heat resistant gloves during this process. Remove from water, remove tubing and tighten zip tie at the same time. Trim off excess bag and zip tie. Now you can weigh and label the bags. Place information needed such as weight, date processed or other information you desire. The bags are ready for the freezer.

Be sure to not overload the freezer. Consider putting a single layer of processed chicken in the freezer at one time to be sure of adequate freezing.

Practice food safety during the entire processing of birds. Clean and sanitize your equipment and work areas frequently during the process.

Older processed birds will tend to be a less desirable type carcass simply because the meat with be tougher. These birds are typically tenderized, slow roasted, boiled, or used to make chicken broth or soups.

Learn how many birds you can comfortably process daily with your set up and available help.