Nasty Scald Water

[FootbridgeFarm]

Whoa... that scald water is truly disgusting.

Is there a rule of thumb on how often to replace the water in the scalder?

It gets so gross so quickly that it seems like anything other than a complete flush every few birds would be just wishful thinking but that's not practical. I added fresh water often but it was only mildly effective. I mean really... three or four birds and the water is fully wrecked. Does anyone replace their scald water that often? I know the farm where I learned to process did not.

It seems like a wash station between the picker and the clean station would be worthwhile. Anyone do that? What goes in the water? Salt? Bleach? Soap? None of those sound appealing to me so maybe the final rinse takes it all off but just don't let your customer see the scald tank!

Thanks for your ideas.

E

 

[BigSkyChickens]

I agree, the scald water gets icky quick!

I saw someone here on BYC use a hose w/ pressure nozzle to rinse off the chicken before scalding.....that looks like the way to go.

 

[vsmenagerie]

Im planning on rinsing the birds before scalding. Seemed to make sense to me. Im sure that would help to an extent. Maybe have a bucket you can rinse first in, and then scald? then you could change out the bucket between every few birds and not have to worry about heating it up? Not sure if that is feasible or a good idea, but its something I was thinking about! Hoping to have this figured out by October, since Im figuring our birds will be ready by then if I get them ordered this month.

 

[AlbionWood]

Quote:
That's exactly what we do now. Makes a big difference, not only keeping the scald water cleaner but it really cuts down on the stink! Just keep a hose with a pistol-grip near the killing station, and spray them off good before scalding. Helps to have good pressure to dislodge all the poop stuck to their feathers.

I also hose them off after picking, and again after eviscerating; I really like having a clean carcass. These birds stink so bad, I don't want any of that on my food.

 

[Saltysteele]

our birds aren't that dirty, i guess, as we don't have the problems you are describing. we get some feathers, maybe, but the water doesn't get that dirty.

if your birds are that dirty, definitely wash them before scalding them

 

[Bossroo]

It may be wise that after one rinses off the chicken with a hose of cold water to heat the scald water just a tad hotter to neutralize the now cold wet feathers.

 

[Peruvian]

Dirty scald water...who cares? Why wash them down before plucking? They get a serious rinse in the plucker and if you're going to wash them down, just do it after they are plucked so you wash the skin and not the feathers.

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

I actually use a 5 gallon bucket of warm soapy water, I use dawn dish soap in it to give them a quick wash before going to the scalder. I don't like my scald water getting nasty because sometimes hubby over scalds just a tad.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
That's exactly what we do now. Makes a big difference, not only keeping the scald water cleaner but it really cuts down on the stink! Just keep a hose with a pistol-grip near the killing station, and spray them off good before scalding. Helps to have good pressure to dislodge all the poop stuck to their feathers.

I also hose them off after picking, and again after eviscerating; I really like having a clean carcass. These birds stink so bad, I don't want any of that on my food.

I've only done a couple so far but this is exactly what I did. Liberal rinsing before and after pretty much all stages. I also hosed my table down a bunch, trying to keep things spotless and flies to a minimum. Hundred degree heat makes it a little harder but you can never be too clean, IMO. My birds aren't very dirt, at all but they have been doing a lot of wading everyday. Even though I change out their wading pools three times a day, they still have muddy butts.

 

[schmism]

Quote:
+1

i see little to no reason to change it. Although our second batch we used a significantly larger container of water (instead of our turkey fryer pot) and due to the (much) larger volume of water it didnt seem to get nearly as dirty. (not that we did anything different, just more water)