Asunder
“Watch your step. There’s a spider. Don’t step on it,” Jim Athearn said, pointing down into the trampled grass. Spider? I didn’t see a spider. “No reason to set asunder one of God’s creatures.”
Over our shoulders, just beyond in the back barn, Flavio and the Chicken Crew were well into the work of the flock. About 120 broilers would be bagged and ready for sale the following day. “You may think it’s a bit hypocritical of me to say that,” Jim went on, “as just over there we’re taking lives for the soup pot.”
I didn’t, actually. I thought instead how thoughtful it was. Every day a farmer like Jim, an eater like myself, literally makes life-and-death decisions about food that we don’t even see or know about. “God’s creatures set asunder” reflect decisions that are made for us behind veils. They are actions and reactions to situations and circumstances that are mostly camouflaged, just like that spider. The difference on Morning Glory Farm was that life and death were in full view — the spider and the flock. But until they were seen beyond the veils, they would have remained obscured from sight, from being.
What You Will Need
As mentioned, IGI’s little slaughterhouse-that-could will cost around $20,000. That will include all the stainless steel equipment you need to humanely slaughter and process chickens. Turkeys can be managed with this equipment too, if you’re so inclined. And that’s buying good equipment, new: kill cones, scalder, plucker, evisceration table and all the accompanying components. Have wheels welded to the bottom of the heaviest pieces, such as the scalder and the plucker, so you won’t hurt your back trying to heft them on and off the trailer.
Below is the general equipment list for a mobile poultry processing trailer. Buy the best equipment you can. Do not skimp. It is an investment that will serve you well. Here’s a list of what you will need, down to the duct tape.
Basic Setup
Two 10' x 10' pop-up tents. Brand preference: E-Z Up Tents
6 stainless steel kill cones; Lazy Susan style is what IGI’s mobile slaughterhouse uses, but watch sharp edges.
Kill cones
Self-timing rotary scalder, modified with wheels
Self-timing rotary scalder
Plucker, modified with wheels
Plucker
Stainless steel or plastic evisceration table with custom railing and funnel hole cut in the middle (see Resources for Poultryman products)
Two 20-pound propane tanks
Double-sided hot and cold water sink with hand soap and paper towel rack (see page 46 for building instructions)
Six plastic 32-gallon chill tanks for birds, marked in indelible ink EDIBLE
Three 3-gallon plastic chill buckets for edible offal (hearts, livers, gizzards), marked in indelible ink EDIBLE
One 5-gallon plastic chill bucket for feet — marked in indelible ink EDIBLE
Two tanks for compostable materials — marked in indelible ink INEDIBLE (one for under evisceration table, one for catching blood at kill cones)
Plastic table for surface to place paperwork, bagged birds, etc.
Drain rack (see page 59)
Drain rack
Large pot for bagging (size for deep-frying a turkey or boiling lobster) and accompanying burner
Knives and scrapers
Electric knife sharpener (Chef’s Choice 130 is a nice one) Electric knife sharpener
Health and Safety
First-aid kit
Fire extinguisher
Board of Health paperwork
Hats or hairnets
Bleach (no additives, scents or colors)
Test strips
Two heavy vinyl or rubber aprons (for kill side)
Three lighter vinyl aprons (for evisceration side)
Important Accessories
Shrink bags, clips, pliers, labels
Dish soap for scalder water
Spray-on cooking oil (such as PAM) for kill cones
Bleach-water mix for sanitizing (see page 95)
Clothes hangers for aprons
Two or three spray bottles for sanitizing
Green scrubbies and 5-gallon buckets for cleaning
Leg grabber
Colored zip ties for temperature monitoring
Two thermometers, preferably at least one digital
Portable radio for Crew
Duct tape
Power and Water Lines
Two 100' 12-gauge extension cords
Two 50' 12-gauge extension cords
Two 25' 12-gauge extension cords
One 100' potable water hose (often found at marine supply shops)
Two 50' potable water hoses
Three 25' potable water hoses
Three pistol grip spray heads for hoses
One four-way splitter for hoses
Setting Up the Hoses
Here are the six hoses you need and where they go:
1. One hose from spigot to splitter
2. One hose from splitter to plucker
3. One hose from splitter to evisceration table
4. A second hose for the evisceration table
5. One hose from splitter to sink
6. One hose to increase the distance from the spigot or to use filling chill tanks or for cleaning up.
Double-Sided Hot and Cold Water Sink
devised by Jefferson Munroe
Save yourself about $3,000 and build this double-sided sink. A double-sided sink is an integral part of an effective barrier system between the “kill side” and the “evisceration side” of your setup. A physical barrier is essential to help protect a freshly killed bird from contamination.
This design is based on a sink IGI used for several seasons that was approved by boards of health. Some advantages of this unit include larger wheels, larger capacity for wastewater, less electricity required, and no need to refill the water heater.
Schematic drawing of double-sided sink, front view
Parts
One 4' x 8' piece of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP)
One 4' x 8' piece of 5/8" plywood
One garden cart — preferably with a metal screen bottom so water will drain out
Three 8' 2x4s
Four carriage bolts with washers and nuts
Two 5-gallon buckets
Two stainless sinks with faucets and mixer valves
Two door hinges
1⁄2" pex tubing
Three 1⁄2" pex T fittings
Six 1⁄2" pex 1⁄2" pipe fittings
One 1⁄2" pex female hose fitting
One Ariston 6+ gallon six-year 1500-kW, 120-volt point-of-use mini electric water heater (available at Home Depot)
Steps
1. Glue the FRP to the plywood.
2. Put together the wagon, then build a box out of the lumber to reach a height of 34".
3. Attach the box to the wagon with carriage bolts through the metal grate.
4. Cover the sides and top with FRP panels, leaving the front open for access.
5. Install the sink divider in the center of the sink.
6. Cut holes for the sinks and install.
7. Install the pex tubing and hot water heater. Back view
Front view
8. Plug in the heater and wash your hands.
Chapter 4
Training the Chicken Crew
It’s hard for me to explain to people who don’t work with chickens how this could possibly happen, how affection for chickens could eventually evolve into slaughtering and eating them. How that could possibly be logical? But if you provide them with quality of life, and you care for them properly, and slaughter them in a humane way, it’s an honorable relationship. I’m proud of the work I do.
— Emily Palmer, farmer and IGI Chicken Crew member, 2010–11
You’ve pulled together your Chicken Crew. Now you need to train them. It’s best to hire a professional to train your nascent crew, whether they have experience in poultry slaughter and processing or not. This wil
l get everyone on the same page right from the beginning, in terms of animal handling and welfare, safe equipment management, understanding regulatory requirements, and food safety.
When you order your poultry processing equipment, the distributor may know of a capable, credible person who can both deliver the MPPT and help you get started.
The MPPT: the whole shebang. Don’t forget to check your tie-downs before heading out on the road.
The Crew’s First Training: Live and Local
Have the first training of the Crew on a working farm. This is far more desirable than going to a workshop away from your community or a classroom or conference room. The Crew needs hands-on experience in how to off-load, how to set up the MPPT on a farm, and how to clean the equipment.
Situations, questions, and concerns will come up that are unique to your community, your inspectors, and your environment. Training the Crew close to home will help get everything out in the open for farmers, the trainer, the Crew, and the organization managing the MPPT.
The first training must include live birds. The chicken resulting from the training will be considered custom: that is, it should not be sold. It is for home use only. So have a feast later.
Invite the farmers in your community so they can meet the trainer and the Crew. (If the Crew is trained far away, these will be missed opportunities.) Training days are terrific occasions for farmers to connect with the Crew and your poultry program. This first training is crucial to the trust and relationship building that is a vital part of the program.
It is important that farmers and Crew learn in a safe and welcoming environment. They must be able to ask all the questions they have and they need to get their hands clean, then dirty, and then clean again. Understanding how the scalder and plucker work, tagging birds, the temperatures required for food safety, how to set up, how to eviscerate a bird: a lot of information is dispensed at a training session about the entire process from crate to bag to refrigeration. All players must be on their game.
Bringing in the Regulators
You may also want to schedule your trainer to meet with boards of health during his or her visit. This is preferable to having the regulators actually present during the inaugural training, which might intimidate and inhibit the Crew and the farmers. Best to set up another training/demo for a future date that includes the agents. Schedule a live-to-dressed bird demo at a neutral location for all the boards of health to observe the Crew in action once they are trained up.
ServSafe
Include a food safety course for your Crew in your ongoing education and training program. ServSafe is one company that provides this training. This solid, proactive food safety information resource is important for the Crew to know and will bolster the confidence of regulators. Topics include Hazards and Sources of Contamination, Employee Health and Personal Hygiene, and Equipment and Sanitation. ServSafe offers classes online and in multiple languages including Spanish, Korean, and Chinese.
For information about ServSafe Food Safety certification classes in your area, see Resources.
Suggested Board of Health Guide for Chicken Slaughter Inspection
Here’s an overview of the board of health expectations your unit must meet or exceed, in roughly chronological order.
1. Birds. Maintain optimal welfare and health, including handling of bird and holding prior to slaughter.
2. Site. Must be clean and uncluttered, with short grass and no overhanging trees; gentle gradient away from clean side and evisceration; food crops located at a sufficient distance and upwind. Weather (wind and temperature) must be calm and moderate.
3. Site setup. Waterline must be clean. Maintain adequate clean-dirty separation. Have all equipment pre-sanitized, keep spare knives in a sanitizer, and confirm sanitizer strength. Provide sufficient wood chips under kill cones, plucker, evisceration table. Keep hand wash stations fully stocked. Store an adequate amount of ice in a protected container.
4. Personnel. Crew must be healthy and clean, wearing hair restraints and no hand or arm jewelry. They must be knowledgeable and adequately supervised.
5. Kill side. Confirm that all birds are dead prior to scalding. Monitor the number of birds escaping the kill cone; monitor the scalder water temperature; oversee proper cleanup prior to leaving the kill side.
6. Evisceration. Thoroughly rinse and sanitize the table if feces or ingesta escape; sanitize any knife that gets contaminated with feces. Thoroughly rinse cleaned bird prior to placement in chill tank.
7. Time/Temperature. Ensure less than 40°F (4.44°C) within 4 hours, and maintain less than 41°F (5.0°C) during packing until refrigerated storage or handover to buyer.
8. Packaging. Make a thorough final inspection. Properly sanitize the rack. Ensure that Crew members bag the birds without touching the inside of the bag with their hands, and without touching the outside of the bag with the table. Check that birds are packed in sanitized totes in ice on top and bottom.
9. Transport. Check that truck bed is cleaned and sanitized if delivering to the buyer, with birds secured properly, temperature monitored prior to transport and upon delivery. Scrub and sanitize mobile equipment.
10. Site cleanup. Collect liquid and solid waste, thoroughly clean equipment, take inventory of anything needed (like soap or paper towels), and alert Crew manager of missing supplies.
11. Compost. Follow department of environmental protection specifications; observe for signs of scavenger activity, dense insect activity, smells, and such.
Almost Kosher
Humane slaughter and animal welfare are always inherently part of the systems developed around the MPPT. The method of actual kill that the Crew uses is essentially that of the ritual slaughter shechita.
Two cuts are made across the chicken’s throat. There is no stabbing or gouging. The knives are kept razor sharp and are sharpened throughout the day to maintain the edge and avoid any undue pain to the animal. The neck is slightly extended so the skin is taut. The cuts do not nick bone, nor is the bird decapitated. Not only would decapitation be beyond the scope of necessary action, but there is the practical food safety precaution as well. You don’t want to put a headless bird in the scalder.
The cuts are made with intention: to bleed-out fast and bring a swift death with minimal pain and stress. The slaughterer holds each bird in his or her arms while making the cuts, then puts the bird into the kill cone for its last death throes. Death is confirmed by a Crew member before the bird is transferred from the cone to the scalder. One at a time.
Ritual slaughter is prescribed by both the Torah and the Koran. The birds killed as described above, however, are not kosher by kosher standards. A strictly kosher kill would require a shochet, a person who is licensed and trained both in the kill and in the koshering processes afterward.
The knives are kept razor sharp and are sharpened throughout the day to maintain the edge and avoid any undue pain to the animal.
Finding local kosher chicken is even more difficult than finding local chicken. The local kosher food movement has greater challenges because of the lack of trained shochet, much less access to kosher slaughterhouses. Increasingly, organizations work to make kosher food a local, attainable, and more sustainable part of the food system. In the Boston area, LoKo is a small grassroots nonprofit working with the Jewish community around issues of kosher local food and sustainability (www.lokomeat.com).
Indeed, just like any slaughter, it is only as good as the people who do it. And like any slaughterhouse, it will be only as responsible as the people who manage it.
MPPT Map: What Goes Where
Give yourself at least an hour to set up the components of the MPPT so the work can then proceed calmly, briskly, and efficiently, with no rush. Use this map to guide you in what goes where.
Humane Slaughter, Step by Step
As you begin, the birds should be in their crates, calm, and in the shade.
Equipment Setup and Prep
1.Unload the trailer
and place the components in their proper arrangement according to the MPPT map (page 55).
2. Fill the scalder with water and begin to heat it to 150°F (65.5°C).
3. Fill two 30-gallon trash cans with water, two halfway with ice to create an ice slurry, adding ice as needed. Keep the hose available for top-up and refill.
4. Place a 4-inch-high pile of wood chips under the kill cone, plucker, and evisceration table (not under the scalder — fire hazard).
5. Sterilize the evisceration table. Sharpen the knives and sterilize them.
Holding and Killing the Bird
1. Hold the bird under your left arm if you are right-handed, and vice versa. Hold it upside-down, its head toward your front, its feet up and back. With the hand that is holding the bird, pull the head down. Wait till the bird is calm.
2. With your other hand, find both of the bird's mandibles (jawbones). With a sharp, sanitized knife, cut cleanly, firmly, and quickly across the blood vessel above each mandible.
The Mobile Poultry Slaughterhouse Page 6
