You’ve been carefully nurturing your chickens for weeks or months, and it’s finally time for all your effort to pay off. While the finish line may be in sight, you still need to tackle the one remaining step before you pick up your neatly packaged whole or processed chickens: the trip to the abattoir.
When preparing birds for slaughter, the main theme is “less is more.” Less stress on birds equates to fewer injuries and deaths, and therefore an overall better meat product. Small producers can be hardest impacted by losses; without the weight of numbers behind their production, the loss of even a few birds due to catching or transportation issues can be disappointing both for humane and monetary reasons.
The process of preparing birds for slaughter begins with removing feed, followed by catching and crating for transport and finally the trip to, and arrival at, the abattoir. A farmer can’t control anything that happens after the birds are dropped off at the abattoir, but management leading up to that point is all on him/her.
The sweet spot for feed withdrawal
Feed withdrawal needs to be carefully timed to ensure a bird’s innards are completely empty at slaughter; the best time to withdraw feed is 6 to 10 hours before death, and achieving that time frame is critical. If the time period is too short, a bird’s guts may be full, resulting in contamination during the slaughtering process; if it’s too long the intestines can degrade, again resulting in contamination.
Farmers need to consider how long it will take to catch and crate birds, how long it will take to travel to the abattoir, and how long the birds will wait on-site before being killed. Factors such as temperature and activity level can also impact how quickly food is digested in a chicken’s digestive tract, and need to be taken into consideration for timing of feed withdrawal.
Communicating with the processor in advance will help a farmer determine the approximate time his birds will be killed, and from there he can count backwards to achieve the sweet spot of six to 10 hours for feed withdrawal. Prevent dehydration by making sure water is available for poultry right up until the last minute before catching. Never leave crated birds to sit overnight.
Catching 101
The best way to handle a chicken is from behind, by first immobilizing the wings and supporting the breast with both hands. These four-week old broilers are easy to hold now, but with a few more weeks’ growth it will be a different story.
Unlike farms with very large numbers of broilers who can hire experienced ‘catchers’ to catch and crate birds for transport, a small farmer has to do it all.
Don’t chase your birds as that can cause bruising that may be evident on the carcass. A common injury to birds that can result from the catching process is Green Muscle Disease, caused by excessive wing flapping in the days and weeks before slaughter. Bruising can also be an issue.
Poultry veterinarian, consultant, and author, Dr. Scott Gillingham (www.ichicken.ca), explained that because today’s broiler breeds have more yield and are heavily muscled, farmers need to take even more care when handling them. If they are chased during catching, it can cause injury to the bird, which will be seen in the quality of the meat.
Today’s broiler breeds are heavily muscled and grow quickly. Stresses that come from catching and transporting can have a big impact on these hybridized breeds; a small farmer needs to treat these birds gently to ensure the highest quality of meat.
According to Gillingham, the key message small farmers should have when catching and moving birds into transport cages is “calmly and gently.”
“These birds, especially layers, have given their little hearts out, and they should be treated with tender loving care . . . they need to pass on with dignity,” Gillingham said.
To corral your birds, slowly and carefully walk in the direction in which you want your birds to travel, with your arms spread wide. A waggle of the fingers in your left hand will have your birds heading to the right, and vice versa. Small movements keep birds calm and can prevent pile-ups in corners, and possible deaths.
Although it’s a technique used on some farms, avoid picking up birds by the feet, this can cause dislocation and injury. Gillingham says that the best way to catch a chicken is “from behind with both hands . . . immobilize the wings and with gentle loving care, put them in the transport crate.” This may test your patience, but as with many farming endeavours, slow and steady wins the race. Before crating your birds, take a few seconds to inspect them for signs of illness or disease which would prevent them from going to slaughter. Look for birds that are injured, lethargic or unable to stand.
Conditioning poultry
Brandy Jackson from Fly Creek Farm spends time with her birds to get them accustomed to being picked up; this makes catching and transporting to slaughter much easier on both her, and her birds.
When catching birds, you could find yourself saying “there must be an easier way to do this,” and you may be right. Instead of dealing with panicked birds, take a page from Brandy Jackson’s playbook and spend time with your birds over their lifespan to make sure they are used to being handled.
Jackson operates a 25-share CSA from her North August farm, Fly Creek Farm, in Ontario, and spends time with her birds throughout their growth to ensure they are accustomed to human interaction. This makes catching and crating much easier when it comes time for the trip to slaughter. Her birds know and trust her to handle them with care. “These are fragile birds, they need to get used to having humans around,” Jackson said.
Conditioning poultry is something that can only be accomplished with a small flock, where a farmer has an opportunity to interact with his birds through day-to-day care and management.
On the road
When determining how many birds to put in each crate, there is no easy answer, and numbers depend on the size of the birds, size of the crate and temperature. Crate manufacturers will typically have specific guidelines on how many birds their crates will hold, but for those with home-made crates a good rule of thumb is that each chicken should have enough room to sit comfortably in the crate without touching his or her neighbour.
Crates are typically very shallow, which is intended to keep a chicken from moving around too much. While this may seem uncomfortable for the bird, it’s really for their safety, to prevent them from climbing on each other, causing injury or death. Avoid using cages with a wire bottom that can catch a bird’s toes; similarly make sure there are no holes large enough for a chicken’s head to fit through.
When transporting poultry, keep an eye on the weather forecast; if there is the possibility of rain, make sure you have a way of keeping your birds dry. If it will be hot, make sure you have a way of increasing ventilation to prevent overheating. Never leave your birds in crates overnight.
It can be difficult to find a poultry processor near your farm these days, which can often mean long hours spent in transit to the processor. Try to reduce travel time by checking for road closures and finding the shortest route possible.
For more information:
Poultry Industry Council, Should This Bird Be Loaded?: http://www.poultryindustrycouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DT-Handbook-final.compressed.pdf
- Amy Hogue