A guide on slaughtering animals and poultry for fresh, tender meat

Slaughtering chicken is important because it is part of value addition, yet many farmers or abattoirs take it casually.

Some slaughter the birds inhumanly, causing pain and frightening the birds.

The task is not about picking a chicken from the flock and slitting its throat. Here is a six-step guide on how to slaughter chickens to avoid causing them pain and distress.

a) Preparation before slaughter

Chickens must be caught and handled with care to ensure their safety and that of the handler.

Aggressive techniques causes panic leading to injuries (bone breaks, dislocations and bruises) and stress. This makes them release adrenaline that can affect the quality of the carcass. It is important to approach birds quietly and calmly under dim light to avoid panic.

Starve the birds for between six and 12 hours before slaughter to reduce crop content and faecal contamination when eviscerating (disembowelling) the carcass. However, offer them drinking water (especially in hot climates) so that they do not suffer unnecessarily.

Moreover, this will have a positive influence on meat tenderness. Sterilise the knife and other tools you will use.

b) Stunning

Slaughter is in two-stages; inducing loss of consciousness and causing the death of the animal. One can use either electrical or concussion stunning. Both are humane.

Electrical stunning uses a stun gun designed for poultry to pass sufficient current through the brain to disrupt the normal electrical activity.

Concussion stunning is applying a severe blow to the skull. Both methods cause immediate unconsciousness and insensibility to pain.

c) Slaughtering

After stunning, slaughter by cutting through the jugular vein located at the front of the neck just below the head using a sharp knife. This should be done in 15 seconds after stunning before consciousness is regained.

Neck dislocation without prior stunning has been widely used. However, research suggests that the procedure does not consistently concuss the brain and it is unlikely to cause immediate insensibility to pain. The slaughtering should take place on a table.

d) Bleeding

The carcass should be suspended on an overhead rack on its legs after slaughtering for food safety reasons for about two minutes so that the blood can flow out easily. Ensure when suspending the bird, the wings are properly secured to prevent flapping that may interfere with the bleeding.

e) Scalding and plucking process

Scalding then follows to loosen the feathers for easy removal. Immerse the bird in hot water (50oC to 600C) for 60 seconds. The head is first immersed in the hot water, as you gently swirl the whole body and legs.

Check the scald by rubbing your hand or fingers against the grain of the feathers on the leg, and by plucking a large feather from the wing or tail.

If the feathers don’t pluck easily, more time is needed and as soon as the feathers come out easily, scalding is done.

Don’t overheat the water or leave the birds in it for too long since this can cause easy tear of the skin.

Plucking should be done immediately after the scalding; otherwise the effect is lost for a big part and the bird will become stiff. The de-feathered carcass has to be thoroughly washed to ensure all the dirt and feathers are removed.

f) Evisceration

This is the removal of the viscera (internal organs). At this stage the head and the feet are also removed.

The bird should be placed on a table, which, however, presents a risk of contamination, especially when more than one chicken is to be eviscerated. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the table is cleaned thoroughly.

To remove the head, make a cut around the neck just behind the head, and twist to separate the neck from the body.

Remove the feet using a knife to cut through the skin and tendons around the joint, then simply snap the feet off using your hand. The head and feet should not be thrown away as they make great soup ingredients.

At this stage, you should be able to see the oesophagus, trachea and crop which can be left attached and be pulled from the body with the viscera or can be cut off.

Move to the tail of the bird where the scent gland is located and since it produces strong and odorous oil, remove it by making a circular cut around the tail.

Next, create an opening into the cavity of the body by making a cut around the vent (cloaca). Ensure the opening is large enough to allow you to delve in with one hand in a flat position and the top of your fingers pressed upward against the breastbone of the bird.

Use a gentle, firm pressure to work your hand into the body cavity, and when your fingers cannot go in any further, carefully curve them downward to scoop and carefully pull out the digestive tract from the esophagus to the intestines. When all the contents of the cavity have been removed, the bird should be thoroughly washed.

The by-products; the heart, liver and gizzard can be separated and kept for consumption since they are edible. The heart has to be washed and squeezed to force out any remaining blood. The green gall bladder should be carefully removed from the liver to prevent it from damaging it and the carcass.

The green liquid from the gall bladder can ruin the product and has a bitter taste if it contaminates the carcass. The gizzard needs to be split lengthwise and the contents washed. The lining should then be peeled away from the rest of the gizzard.

g) Processing and packaging

After completing evisceration, chill the carcass in ice-water for at least 30 minutes to one hour to allow the muscles to go through rigor mortis (stiffness of death) and relax, otherwise the meat might end up being tough and hard.

If the carcass is to be frozen, the gizzard, heart and liver can be wrapped in a small plastic bag and placed inside the body cavity. The dressed carcass can then be placed in a moisture-vapour proof plastic bag before freezing.

Ms Miyumo works at the Smallholder Indigenous Chicken Improvement Programme ([email protected]), Animal Science Department, Egerton University.