As poultry farming in Kenya transitions into a small scale or subsistence activity into a large scale commercial farming enterprise, a lot of Kenyans are now mechanizing and modernizing their farming operations. There are better quality poultry housing, modern poultry equipment and increasingly poultry machinery. Because of the fewer numbers of poultry processing facilities in the country, many poultry farmers resort to manually slaughtering and plucking the feather off their chickens.
However, there are cheaper poultry feather plucking machines in Kenya that you can use to simplify the task and save time. The poultry feather plucking machine can pluck poultry feathers of up to five chickens in less than five minutes so if you are running a busy operation where you have to dress your chickens, then this machine would save you time and make the task a lot easier for you.
The poultry plucking machine is a must-have if you are managing a large kienyeji chicken farming enterprise. It’s the perfect way to improve productivity and increase your profits by rapidly processing and dressing your chickens for buyers.
The poultry feather plucking machine ensures that you are able to run a hygienic operation right from the outset. It’s not just fast but also ensures the highest standards in hygiene are observed.
Slaughtering the Birds: Best Practices
Birds should generally be fed a balanced diet and the feed should be withdrawn at least four hours before they are slaughtered. These four hour break allows the birds to fully digest the feed taken in and it will also ensure that their crops and innards will be empty during the slaughter time. The remnants of feed in these internal organs may lead to the contamination of the meat.
Also, during the slaughter, it’s advisable to catch the birds by their wings rather than their feet in order to prevent them from flapping their wings and bruising themselves during the slaughter.
On the way to the slaughter, the birds should be transported with the heads hanging downwards.
The slaughter unit of the poultry plucking machine consists of three components. There is the bleeding assembly with its four restraining cones, the scalding tank and the plucker.
Hygienic Housing and the Equipment
The chickens should be put headfirst into the cones, with four being put in at a time. The jugular veins of the birds are then severed and they are left to bleed for about five minutes. The chickens are then put in a scalding tank for about one and a half minutes where the water is heated to 58-degrees Celsius. Don’t leave the birds in the tank for longer than 1.5 minutes as they will leave them partially “cooked”.
The birds are then placed in the plucker. This is a bucket shaped device that contains protrusions and a spinning base. The machine will de-feather the chickens within 22 seconds.
Once they have been de-feathered, use the right tools and processes during the cleaning process, packaging and storing of the slaughtered chickens so as to avoid contamination.
