Chill Tanks

[barrybro]

I have hired a mobile processor to come to my farm and process 300 chickens in June. I have presold the vast majority and they will come to the farm on the processing date to pick up their chicken. I am trying to work out how my chill tank, bagging, and after bagging storage (a few hours at the most) will look like. I have a few questions (that I am sure will lead to more questions).

How long can the birds be in a chill tank?

How much ice per bird (or pound) will it take?

How many gallons of space per bird?

I am using the cornerstone farm ventures shrink bags, how quickly can i bag the birds (two per minute, 5 per minute)?

I have it set up right now for people to come over a four hour period in the afternoon but I have plenty of time to adjust that if necessary.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Honestly, do it on a saturday or sunday morning if you can. This way it's cool, unless you have an ice machine, your profits will quickly dwindle trying to keep enough ice on them.

I'm in a hurry... I have to get my butt outside so I will answer the other questions later today....

 

[barrybro]

I am starting in the morning, but given this is the first time at this volume i didn't want people showing up and seeing a circus. I just want to work the kinks out. I can defenitley encourage people to come in the morning. I think it will take a good part of the day to get through all of them.

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions later. You are one of the operations i watch, I hope to get to your level at some point.


Barry

 

[schmism]

how much freezer space do you have?

start collecting milk jugs and freeze water in them. 5-10 gall of mostly block ice will go a long way.

 

[barrybro]

I have a large chest freezer and my wife has been saving milk jugs for 3 weeks. With 3 kids under 8 it doesn't take long to accumulate
a good number. I have read that you need to used crushed ice as well so the ice is around and in the chicken.

Thanks

Barry

 

[schmism]

Quote:
dont know about that... in about 3 weeks will be my first time to process some nuggets. You can easly bust up one of the milk jugs for smaller ice. but really if the water and ice have reached an equilibrium then both the water and the ice is both 32deg so weather or not you have crushed ice in contact with the birds i dont know if that matters.... its all the same temp 32deg F.

but again im no expert but i did sleep at a holiday in express last night so.....

 

[Brunty_Farms]

How long can the birds be in a chill tank? In the summer, I keep birds in the chill tank over night. It's best not to but sometimes you do not have that option. What I do is put about a foot of ice in the chill tank, let the birds sit over night after processing all day. In the morning drain the water and bag them.

How much ice per bird (or pound) will it take? I'm not sure how much per bird, but it's a lot. Always make sure they have ice in the tanks or in the bins, even after they are bagged.

How many gallons of space per bird? I have one of these chill tanks form featherman.... http://featherman.net/chilltank.html

I am using the cornerstone farm ventures shrink bags, how quickly can i bag the birds (two per minute, 5 per minute)? I use regular bags, not the shrink type. For me it's about 2 birds per minute, maybe a bit more. However if your using the shrink bags you have to dip them in water so for your first time I would say about 1 / minute just to be safe. Ask Jaku.... he uses the shrink bags.

I have it set up right now for people to come over a four hour period in the afternoon but I have plenty of time to adjust that if necessary. Ya like I said, try to get them to come in the morning. The biggest problem that I had was giving people too big of a time frame to pick up. Now, we are stern with the time. I always make it 3 hours that way the birds are off and on their way and out of my hands. The longer you have them, the more ice you use and the more hassle it is. Get them in, get them out. It's always nice to have a few people helping that way you can chat a bit with your customers.


Any info would be greatly appreciated. One thing I would like to add, is be organized. Have a list of the people in alphabetical order so it makes it easier for you to find their name. Get everything ready before people start showing up or you will look like a circus. I've been there done that and trust me, it's best to always know what your doing. Even if you don't.... at least make it look that way! It will take a few pickups to get a good system down.

It's a lot of fun, but stressful... so good luck!

 

[jaku]

Quote:
I keep my birds in the chill tank for 24 hours. The amount of ice will depend on the amount of insulation you have in your tank. Don't worry about space per bird as long as you get your water cold and keep it that way, which may involve you partially draining it mid butchering, then adding more cold water and ice. Once they get cold, how densely they are packed won't matter. I also use the Cornerstone shrink bags. It goes pretty quick if you have two people. Build one of the bagging racks they show on their website- it makes it go even quicker. Once you get the birds pre-bagged, it goes as fast as you can dunk them.

I just built a new chill tank. I'll post pics within a few days.

 

[schmism]

since the topic is chill tanks, id like to toss my own questions ontop of this thread (sorry no hijacking intended)

What do you use for chill tanks?

55gal plastic barrels?

large commercial type trash cans?

i know Brunty_Farms has a "real" chill tank from featherman...

if it was properly washed and sanitized, what do you think of those 275gal totes? to big?

 

[uhuh555]

Your chill tank should be large enough so when adding warm bird carcasses it doesn't warm up but maintains temperatures below 40F.

We have a large chest freezer (24 cubic foot) 2/3 filled with water and have it running on high until the water temperature reaches 34F then turn it down to low while adding processed birds. We monitor the temperature for 3 days then have customers pick them up after they have been fully "rested". To depend on the customer to do this is iffy a best. Our goal is to have a ready to eat bird that is tender and tasty.