Prep Table Recommendations?

[tribalacres]

We process almost 200 every eight weeks. We use a plastic table, rinse when dirty, and a utility sink that we hook up with a water hose and a canopy to cover when the sun is shining. We do raise the table with two saw horses so it doesn’t strain any of our backs. Hope that helps.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Our process is:

From scalder to plucker to bin of cold water with water running.

Final detail plucking happens in bin of cold water, which rinses feathers away as they come off. Can be hard on backs sitting over a bin but dunking the bird under the water really shows any feathers that are left. When finished the bird goes in a large 55 gallon plastic barrel with cold water running.

After all birds are feather-less we transition to the indoor stainless 'harvest' kitchen sink. 10 ft long with two huge basins in the middle. here we do all eviscerating, cut feet, wing tips and tail off and sort organs into bowls with ice water. Then bird goes into aging fridge.

Sam's club has nice 13 quart stainless steel bowls for about $10. I love them for harvesting everything.

Its just the two of us (+12 yr old) and we can do about 16-18 from start to finish in a day.


@tribalacres Wow 200 every eight weeks! that's a production right there.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

First we cut, then we scald, then pluck, finally gut. We had three huge trash cans. One was for the guts, one was filled with cold water to dunk the bird for a quick rinse, and the final one was full of water, ice, and salt where the birds soaked for four hours. The table was just a plastic fold out table. There were a couple of bowls full of water for rinsing tools, and those were changed out with fresh water a couple of times. Also a knife sharpener was available. I don’t know that I missed having a sink.

 

[father0fnine]

First we cut, then we scald, then pluck, finally gut. We had three huge trash cans. One was for the guts, one was filled with cold water to dunk the bird for a quick rinse, and the final one was full of water, ice, and salt where the birds soaked for four hours. The table was just a plastic fold out table. There were a couple of bowls full of water for rinsing tools, and those were changed out with fresh water a couple of times. Also a knife sharpener was available. I don’t know that I missed having a sink.

I just thought having a garbage chute in the work area was a neat idea. I tend to miss the garbage when it's next to the table. Sink wouldn't be very practical for me. I live on dirt so, unless I plumbed the sink into to the septic system, the water would just make for mud under the table.

 

[RoosterML]

I just thought having a garbage chute in the work area was a neat idea. I tend to miss the garbage when it's next to the table. Sink wouldn't be very practical for me. I live on dirt so, unless I plumbed the sink into to the septic system, the water would just make for mud under the table.

It’s not going to be fun processing birds without running water.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I just thought having a garbage chute in the work area was a neat idea. I tend to miss the garbage when it's next to the table. Sink wouldn't be very practical for me. I live on dirt so, unless I plumbed the sink into to the septic system, the water would just make for mud under the table.

That’s why the garbage is next to the table so you can sweep everything into the garbage. I’m not really sure how that is any different than a hole in the table that you’d sweep the trash into. Also no one that I know of plumbs their outdoor sink drain. It kind of defeats the purpose of a mobile sink. You either attach a drain hose to drain it outside of your yard or catch it all in a bucket. However I didn’t suggest using a sink. I only said that I didn’t miss having one, as in I functioned fine with just the table. I feel like you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[NatJ]

I just thought having a garbage chute in the work area was a neat idea. I tend to miss the garbage when it's next to the table.

If the problem is height, you could put the garbage up on something (a stump, an upside down bucket, a washable chair, etc.)

 

[sixclicks]

Prep tables, explicitly sandwich prep tables, offer stockpiling and prep space for fixings that should be cut, cut, or in any case prepared before use. Administrators can utilize these units for menu things other than sandwiches, like burger fixings, pizza, salad, and pan fried food dishes.

 

[backyardart]

So, I would like to get a little more organized in my meat bird processing. This year, I didn't need many birds from the hatchery but because of minimum orders, I have a lot more cornish X than before. So instead of doing the odd cull or extra roo, I'm going to have to have a chicken-butcher-day. One of the things I've seen in random videos is a stainless steel table with a whole in the middle (or one side) for dropping feathers and "stuff" through. The makeup of the table makes it great to handle a wet (scalded) bird and easy to wash down with the hose between steps in the process. Problem is, I don't know what to even search for in Google to find tables like this. I can find stainless steel tables but no hole. I can find counter tops with holes but they're way to nice for use in the yard.

So, that's the problem but as I sat down to type out my question, I realized that my fellow chicken wranglers might have other ideas as good or better so: does anyone know how to find or where to get a table like I described, and what do you use when it comes time to process the chickens?

D

i looking my self joel Salatin ( Talks pastured raised chickens ) has some nice sinks full of drain holes in then in vidio on you tube.