SSMALLMALL-S-SCCALEALE PPOULOULTRTRYY PPROCESSINGROCESSING By Anne Fanatico NCAT Agriculture Specialist May 2003 Introduction A growing number of small producers are rais- ing poultry outdoors on pasture, processing the birds on-farm, and selling the meat directly to customers at the farm or at a farmers’ market. Many states allow up to 1,000 birds to be processed on a farm each year and sold directly to consumers with no inspection. Some of these small producers are go- ing further—building government-licensed process- ing plants to supply regional or niche markets. Spe- Photo by Paul Helbert cialty “religious kill” is often done in small plants. “Kosher” is the term for Jewish slaughter and “halaal” for Muslim slaughter. Access to processing is a critical issue for small producers. Consolidation in the meat process- ing industry has left very few small plants that will do custom poultry processing. (Large plants generally don’t process for small producers; they can’t keep track of a small batch of birds and can’t make money on small- volume orders.) This publication covers small-scale processing, both on- farm and in small plants. Relevant information on large-scale processing is also included for comparison, to provide con- text, and because small processors need to have some under- standing of how large-scale processing works. Related ATTRA publications ¶ Sustainable Poultry: Production Overview ¶ Growing Your Range Poultry Business: An Entrepreneur’s Toolbox This publication was developed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) (http://www.ncat.org) for Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org) with funds from Southern Region SARE. Distribution is provided free of charge to the public through NCAT’s ATTRA Project (http://www. attra.ncat.org), the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................1 Table 1. Comparison of types of processing................................2 Pre-slaughter ...............................................................................3 Immobilizing, Killing, and Bleeding.................................................4 Feather Removal ...........................................................................6 Table 2. Scalding .....................................................................7 Removal of Head, Oil Glands, and Feet...........................................9 Evisceration .................................................................................9 Washing the Carcass ...................................................................10 Chilling......................................................................................10 Cut-up, Deboning, and Further Processing....................................13 Aging ........................................................................................14 Packaging ..................................................................................14 Storage .....................................................................................15 Delivery and Distribution.............................................................16 Clean-up ...................................................................................16 Waste Management ....................................................................16 Table 3. Processing Plant Waste Loads per 1000 Chickens ........17 Equipment and Supplies ..............................................................18 Processing Diverse Species..........................................................19 Batch vs. Continuous Processing..................................................19 Processing Rate..........................................................................19 Processing Setup ........................................................................20 Economics .................................................................................23 Resources ..................................................................................23 References .................................................................................24 Appendix A. South Central New York RC&D MPU Layout .........29 Appendix B. Kentucky MPU Layout..........................................35 Appendix C. Small Plant Work Areas and Design ......................36 Attachment ............................................................................38 PAGE 2 SMALL-SCALE POULTRY PROCESSING Table 1. Comparison of types of processing On-farm Small Large Size Outdoor or shed facility 2,000 to 3,000 sq. ft. 150,000 sq. ft. Equipment Manual Manual/Mechanical Fully automated Cost Less than $15,000 Less than $500,000 $25,000,000 Labor Family Family/hired Hired Capacity 50-100 birds per day 200-5,000 birds per day 250,000 birds per day Operation Seasonal; 1-30 pro- Seasonal or year-round; Year-round; process cessing days per year 50-plus processing days daily per year Marketing Product sold fresh, Mainly cut-up, sold sometimes frozen; Fresh and frozen, whole fresh, further-pro- whole birds and parts cessed Comments Independent operation; Independent or part of a Part of an integrated labor-intensive; low- collaborative group; operation including risk; usually non- requires good markets grow-out, processing, inspected, direct sales and grower commitments and marketing During the first part of the 20th century, poul- and the possibility of tearing it during process- try was sold live to consumers who did their own ing, which would cause fecal contamination of processing. In the 1930s, only the blood and feath- the carcass. Withholding the feed too long will ers were removed (“New York dressed”). As result in watery guts that leak. consumers demanded more convenience, the market grew for eviscerated or ready-to-cook CATCHING AND LOADING (RTC) birds. Large producers harvest all their birds at once Producing ready-to-cook poultry involves: (all-in, all-out). Small producers often “skim” by • Pre-slaughter: catching and transport harvesting larger birds and leaving smaller ones • Immobilizing, killing, and bleeding to grow. Birds are best caught at night or early in the morning when they are calm. For small • Feather removal: scalding, picking producers, picking birds up individually by the • Removal of head, oil glands, and feet sides is the best way to minimize stress and pre- • Evisceration vent injury. Of course, this is not feasible when you’re dealing with thousands of birds (1). In • Chilling large-scale production, chickens are caught by • Cut-up, deboning, and further processing grabbing both legs, just above the feet. No more • Aging than three birds should be carried in one hand. Crews of 10 people catch and crate birds at the Packaging • rate of 10,000 per hour, bruising up to 25% of • Storage them (1). In Europe, automatic harvesting ma- • Distribution chinery is increasingly used in large operations, because it is considered more humane than the rough treatment by catchers who handle several Pre-slaughter birds at once. Transport crates are wooden or plastic. A Broilers are usually processed at 4.5 lbs. live typical crate can hold about 8 birds in the sum- weight. Feed is withheld for 8 to 12 hours before mer and 10 in the winter, depending on their size slaughter to reduce the amount of feed in the gut and on the weather. The crates usually have a SMALL-SCALE POULTRY PROCESSING PAGE 3 small opening, to help prevent escape during Once the birds reach the processing facility, loading, but a small opening also increases the it is important to keep them comfortable in the chance of physical injury to wings. Crowding of holding area. Scheduling arrival at the plant can birds in crates is another welfare issue. reduce waiting time. On-farm processors usu- Kuhl Co. (2) and Brower Co. (3) sell trans- ally hold crated birds under trees or other shade. port crates. Used crates are sometimes available The conventional industry typically produces at lower prices. Small producers sometimes birds within one hour of the processing plant. make their own wire crates from welded wire With two hours of travel, shrinkage or weight mesh and clips. loss is about 1% (4). In Europe, special modules are used on transport trucks for even air flow and good ventilation. Companies are fined for arriving with dead birds. Large processors keep crated birds in a holding shed with fans and mis- ters to keep them cool. Care must be taken when unloading the birds Catching and from the crates to prevent bruises and broken transport can bones. On-farm and small plants unload birds be stressful for by hand. At large plants, broilers are unloaded onto conveyor belts. Transport crates should be the birds. washed after each use. Catching, loading, transporting, and unload- ing expose birds to new environments and new sources of stress. This can negatively affect meat quality (see Aging section). During hauling, in particular, birds have to deal with heat or cold, feed and water withdrawal, motion, vibration, TRANSPORT, HOLDING, AND noise, and social disruption (1). UNLOADING Immobilizing, Killing, Avoid holding birds in crates for too long or transporting them when the weather is too hot, cold, or wet. With on-farm processing, there is and Bleeding little or no travel time. If you have to transport Small processors usually place birds in fun- in cold, wet weather, be sure to cover the birds— nel-shaped kill cones after removing them from small producers typically cover the crates with