Preparing for Processing Day: A Family Affair
Processing Day is a significant event for our family, it all starts with meticulous planning and teamwork. It’s a long, tiring day, but it’s also deeply rewarding. The key to a successful processing day is preparation, and every family member plays a crucial role in making it all come together smoothly.
We prefer to process our birds based on their readiness rather than sticking strictly to a predetermined timeline. While factors like weather, injuries, and our schedules influence the choice, we find it worthwhile to adapt and process the birds when they’re at their best.
The night before – Preparations
6:00 pm – Weighing the Birds: Addison and I will head out to weigh each bird. Our customers prefer dressed birds that fall between 4-6 lbs, so we aim for live weights of approximately 5 lbs 12 oz or more. We’ll separate the birds that meet this requirement and place them in holding crates. The birds that need more time will stay in the tractors.
Food and Water Removal: We’ll pull food and water from the crates to keep the birds calm. By removing these, we ensure their crops are less likely to have undigested food and their bowels are clear of manure, making the processing area easier to maintain.
Preparing Equipment and Supplies
Once the birds are settled, it’s time to prep our equipment:
- Cones and Knives: Hang the cones and sharpen the knives to ensure everything is ready for use.
- Hoses and Handwashing Station: Set up the hoses and handwashing station, crucial for maintaining cleanliness throughout the day.
- Fishing Gear: Lay out our waterproof fishing gear, which doubles as practical attire for processing.
- Ice and Freezers: Fill the freezers with bagged ice, as we use the ice during processing the freezers are emptied and ready for the processed chickens.
- Our scalder is cleaned and filled with water – we add a bit of baking soda to the water to help loosen the feathers, some recommend dish soap however we have found baking soda to be just as effective.
- Mark will head out around 3 am to get the water topped off and light the propane, heating the water to approximately 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Team Discussions
My favorite part of the prep work is the discussions. Finding out what each person on the crew would like their job to be, fine tuning the details of each station. We go over safety protocols, back up plans if someone has to step away – who will fill in for them, and more. It’s here where they talk about what they learned last time, what they think we could do different this time around, or what they want to learn this time around.
Processing Day is more than just a task; it’s a family effort that combines hard work with thoughtful preparation. From weighing and preparing the birds to organizing equipment and discussing roles, every step is crucial. Through it all, our focus remains on treating our chickens with respect and care, ensuring that we provide quality food for our family and yours in the most humane way possible.
