Does anyone else work alone when processing?

[Tropical Chook]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Now why didn't I think of all those alternatives. I haven't seen rubber chords for securing tarps over here but I will go and take a look. Most Thais just use rope or anything else they can get their hands on, even if it means using an old boot lace

I tell you, the words "reuse" and "recycle" take on a whole new meaning in Thailand. Nothing goes to waste even if there is only a one in a billion chance that it could be used again for something

They even laugh at my coop because I went and bought timber and hardware cloth. The can't see why I didn't just go and cut some bamboo because it's free, and comes in all sizes. I suppose they do have a point though, but still, I like to do things my way I guess.

Anyway, thanks for the ideas. The next rooster will be going to chicken heaven as soon as I've found something suitable.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I go solo all the time, it sucks but it's less I have to pay out in labor so if I'm doing anything less than 150 I do them myself. There are five huge things that make the whole process easier.

1) Catch all birds the night before and put them in some kind of cage.... before I made my own cages I would just bring a chicken tractor to the area where I processed them. This way when you wake up in the morning you have accomplished two things as you sip on some coffee. You don't have to chase birds on processing day ( I HATE doing that) and the crops and intestines are cleaned out. I will usually just water them the day before, than crate them that night, that way there is no risk of getting any fecal matter on a bird. Plus this way you can pull the crop through the cavity because it's empty.

2) Scalder... make sure you have a PERFECT scald.... why? Well if you're off just a little bit it makes the entire process go so slow. You should be able to take your finger and run it over the skin and the feathers will fall off. I still use a turkey fryer but I have made my mind that I will be getting a scalder this upcoming spring. You have to make do with what you have until you can afford or make one that has an automatic thermostat. However I have got really good at testing the water with my hand... it should be just hot enough to where you can touch it but cant keep it in there for more than a couple of seconds. If you can hold your hand in... it's too cold. If you can't even touch the water.... it's too hot. A thermometer works the best though, I have found 145-150 to be the best range for my thermometer. Keep in mind that every one is different so try a couple birds first then calibrate the thermometer.

3) Plucker.... Gotta have some form of a plucker to make it somewhat done in a timely manner. It takes me about 15 minutes / bird to hand pluck. With a plucker I can do 12 in that time by myself. It's horrendous and couldn't imagine having to do it again. There are plenty of affordable pluckers out there. If you do a batch of chickens... say just a couple hundred or so... you will have your plucker paid for. You don't have to do them all at once, do 20 at a time and sell them to neighbors. Without a plucker, you're only as fast as your hands...

4) High tables! This saves on your back and keeps you moving faster. The lower the tables the slower you will go in the long run. Put them up on cinder blocks if all you have are the folding tables. I invested about $300.00 on two really nice stainless steel tables. One is a cutting board table for evisceration and the other is straight stainless. Found them on an online auction for a fraction of what they would have been new.

5) Sharp knives, I seem to skip this step all the time and settle for cheap knives. Spend the $30.00 and get a nice knife that will hold the edge.... it's only 3 chickens worth!! A buddy brought me a japanese knife a while ago and was amazed at how sharp the knife was. It held an edge all day (we did 220 birds) and it was still sharp. Sharp knives speed up the process... no doubt.

There are plenty more small tips that will speed up processing but these are the biggest 5 that I have had to deal with. Good luck and stick with it.

 

[Country Living Farm]

Yep, I do most of it all alone. Last time I tried to get the wife to help. She would not gut or dunk them in the water so I said OK, here is a knife. She looked at me and I though she was going to use it on me. I pointed to the birds in the cones still alive. She dropped her head said OK.... After three birds, she fell and almost passed out. After 15 mintues she got up, took the boys with her and my 11 year old daughter helped gut. I did buy a plucker a month ago and that did help ALOT!!!! I did 15 birds in 2 hours start to finish, with DD helping gut...

 

[lilwhispers]

I do most of the processing by myself I plucked 7 for another BYCer took me 3 hours the next day I did 7 of my own but I skinned them took 1.5 hours. I am working on converting a washing machine into a chicken washer (plucker), and a fridge into a bator.

 

[Erica]

I'm solo too. Wish the husband was into it, but he prefers the easy path. Wish he didn't laugh at me or call me 'killer' though...

I use neck (or more correctly head) dislocation, and hang the bird near a hose as I work. Skinning is easier, cleaner and doesn't cause that horrible scalded smell. For quick chilling I keep a cooler with a bag of ice nearby, and pop each completed carcass into a plastic bag, then into the cooler. About 10 minutes per bird from start to finish.

Apart from killing (which I hate) the hardest part is the final rinse, when I'm working one-handed (holding the bird by a slippery drumstick while trying to aim the hose at those annoying stray feathers). If I had some way of holding the nozzle still but directing the appropriate amount of water over the carcass, I'd be happier.

Which has just reminded me: I might try to set up a nozzle-holster on a fencepost... That would make the rinsing easier.

 

[ColbyNTX]

Quote:
It is just the black rubber straps they sell at TSC, Walmart, auto store. Just split thm down the middle and stop about 1/2" from the end.

 

[guitari609]

I process alone. I've done it maybe...5 times now, and learned a lot each time. I went from about a bird an hour...or worse, to about 4 birds per hour now. I scald in a bucket that I keep on the fire, I check it with a heat gun every so often, whenever its about 155 I pull it out, dunk two chickens, then put it back on. I have a chicken plucker that I made myself, similar to the one in the link below. If Id have had the parts and not goofed as much I could have easily made the plucker in two hours, and it saves me about 25 minutes per chicken I figure. Two things I learned are that for one, plucking is the hardest part, an electric plucker makes all the difference in the world, and two, a proper scald is by far the most important part of plucking, especially with a plucker. I went from absolutely hating processing to now I don't mind it. Before it'd take me all day to do 8 birds. I did 12 before lunch on Friday, and could have kept going, but was out of birds. Now I'm on to streamlining and perfect my process.

If you are in a hurry, and not doing tons of birds, this is a great little design. Mine was even simpler, I left out the bearings and just used two pieces of oak on either side of a piece of LVL as bearings. Oak is tough enough that it'll take forever to wear out.

One more thing, if you are going to make one of those drill based pluckers, speed is vital. The first plucker I made was of this sort, and was too fast, it ripped the chicken to shreads. Make sure you have a drill that has relatively low rpms, and can do so with out loosing too much torque. When I revamped and tried a variable speed drill and slowed it down, the torque was such that touching it with anything, my bare hand even, stopped it immediately.

 

[averytds]

TY! I don't feel so bad now. I'm around 4/hr by myself if I pluck. I've still got 10 CX waiting on me and just don't have the 3 hrs to devote to processing them right now. I wanted them as whole roasters with the skin.

I thought I just had to be the slowest person in the world.

 

[booker81]

I don't have help - DH has gotten around to wandering by as I'm working on them, but he doesn't seem ready to give it a try (and he will ask when he is, he's good like that).

I just like to set aside a good amount of time, at least double what I need, so that I can go through and do everything at a pretty leisurely pace, so I don't hate it. I don't mind plucking, but a good scald makes all the difference. I too like roasting and crisp skin

It took me 8 hours Sunday to skin 8 banties and pluck 7 regular size birds, but I was being slow and taking breaks

I do the killing outside, and the cleaning inside. I just keep a sinkful of cold water, and use that to put the birds in as I clean them. I'll change the water frequently, and they get a good hard rinse one last time before packing. I hang a garbage bag along the handles of my drawers, so I can just throw bits in there as needed, including feathers and guts. Keeping the fan on the oven seems to cut the smell down. I also wash the birds lightly in the sink before scalding, so I'm not, um, scalding poo.

 

[averytds]

I did the killing out and the cleaning in as well with mine. It was just too cold out. I put a couple of tubs of water on the porch for soaking after though.

I started with one at a time and eventually got up to 4. Kill all four and come in. Scald and pluck all four one at a time. Eviscerate and rinse all 4 one right after the other. Drop them in an outside tub and start on 4 more. It cut down on my in and out time.

Still seemed to take forever and when it came to putting up, they all got put up whole despite my wanting them in pieces. 10 on Sat, 10 on Sun and 10 still waiting.

Before I do it again, I'll either have a plucker, decide to forget about it and skin or only do it when the processor is available.