When to stop feeding prior to butchering

[bshpqr]

I am planning on Sat to butcher my colored rangers. When should I give them there last meal?

 

[kingmt]

I would stop there food 12-24 hours before killing them. Preferably 24.

 

[fasbendera]

I usually do the the twelve hours but someone around here does over 500 and they stop 48 hours before. He pulls the feed the two nights before he butchers. I feed mine the morning before and that is it. I keep them locked up so they can't get anyting the next morning. I have to catch the girls (laying hens) and let them out since I raise them all together.

 

[IAK]

I usually pull it the night before and leave water. This will get everything out of their system except the gizzard. I don't really care that the gizzard is full of corn so I don't bother pulling feed for any longer.

 

[kassy68]

My processor told me the day before.. so for you , you will take it away thursday night or friday morning.. But leave the water for them..

Mine went in at 7 in the morning on a thursday. The food came out wednesday morning. but again.. give them all the water they want

 

[bshpqr]

Thanks. I will plan on pulling food of Friday morning. Same rule of thumb for turkeys or should it be a little longer?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It really helps to have them in a small cage so you don't have to chase them around to catch them for processing. I have a collection of wire rabbit cages I put them in the night before I butcher them. I give them little water dishes there but no food, and make sure they can't even reach grass or leaves through the wire.

It's so much easier to catch them at night. Sometimes I'll cage them 2 nights before, give them a little food first thing in the morning, then take it away by afternoon, 18-24 hours before butchering the next day.

It makes their crops empty and most of their intestines too. Besides, I'm so cheap, why give them food that they won't have time to convert into meat?

 

[jaku]

I give them 24 hours without feed. You'll regret it if you don't... gross on both ends!

 

[Anne Sterling]

I would stop there food 12-24 hours before killing them. Preferably 24.

That is unkind. 8-12 is sufficient.

 

[Broilers-R-Us]

We raised and processed 7 batches of 30 Cornish Cross this year. On the first two batches we withheld food 12 hrs before processing and left access to water. We had to deal with lots of green watery stinky poop during processing. Pulling food 48hrs before processing and free access to water cut way down on the incidents of stinky green watery poop but there were still a few that could have used a good enema.