At what age to slaughter
How long a broiler grows to slaughter, each farmer decides for himself. In principle, after two months the birds are ready to be slaughtered. Profitable breeding means that meat yield is optimal at this time in relation to the live weight. The most common time for the slaughter of domestic broilers is at 80 days of age. It is important that they weigh at least 2.5 lbs. Raising broilers longer than that is unprofitable. The fastest growth is observed in the first month, then the bird continues to grow slowly.
At what age to slaughter broilers is an important question, as birds can be slaughtered before they even gain the right weight. After the bird is 2 months old, it begins to consume a lot of feed. It turns out that a broiler can eat up to 200 grams of feed per day, but the growth rate, on the contrary, slows down. Conclusion: It is not profitable to fatten the bird to the maximum and then slaughter it.
Broilers when they can be slaughtered
Before a bird is fit for slaughter, it needs to grow and gain weight through a proper feeding plan with all the necessary nutrients. This usually takes about 80 days. The weight of the broiler should not be less than 2.5 kg.
Before slaughtering it is necessary to sort the broilers into young and already adult birds. Young birds are distinguished by their keel. it is not yet fully hardened. Adult birds have rough scales and skin. Males have strong spurs and a keratinized beak surface.
When catching the chicks, they should be grabbed by the legs, not the wings. This avoids leaving bruises on the bird’s carcasses, which is important for good marketability. According to State Standard (GOST), the minimum weight of a broiler should be about 900 grams. But the standard allows for a deviation of up to 800 g for a chick, provided that their quantity does not exceed 10% of the total weight of the entire batch.
Before slaughtering, a special “pre-slaughter fast,” which lasts up to 8 hours, must be carried out. During this time the bird’s stomach will be free. The broilers should be in a well-lit room before the slaughter. It is better to fast during the daytime so that the gastrointestinal tract can remain active and the intestines can be cleansed. If you do not do this, the leftovers plus feces will decompose in the carcass and affect the meat flavor.
Roosters destined for slaughter need a sufficient amount of easily digestible protein food. boiled eggs, cottage cheese, milk and other dairy products. Such animal feed is very important in their diet. Starting from the third week, broiler chickens can be fed with normal food for chickens.
At one month the weight of the chick should be 1500-1600 grams. As a matter of fact, already such a chick is perfectly suitable for slaughtering, but with the right diet after 2-3 months the hen can weigh 3 kg.
It is allowed to slaughter chickens of this breed at the age of one month. During this time, they can reach a weight of 1 kg with good, balanced nutrition and good housing conditions.7-2 kg. Optimal time for slaughter is 35-42 days.
How long do broiler chickens grow to slaughter?
Two months is the average time before they reach the desired weight condition. Keeping broilers for more than 70 days is unprofitable because they stop gaining weight, and the meat quality worsens. it becomes tough. The chicks can be slaughtered within 30 to 40 days.
Housed poultry kept for meat production are called “broilers. Scientists have developed broiler breeds specifically for short-term meat production. Such chickens gain weight quickly and do not require extraordinary conditions.
Growing broilers at home for novice farmers allows you to get a small area, on which the coops are placed, a large number of meat products. However, the business has its own risks. If the recommendations are not followed, the chickens will not gain weight and may be infected or die completely.
Broiler chickens are sedentary and have a quiet nature. They are comfortable with dense stocking and do not show discontent. Peculiarity of broilers. the possibility of slaughtering already at 45-50 days of growth. At this age, the average weight of the bird is 4-5 kg.
It is not recommended to raise chickens for a longer time, because they will not be able to gain additional weight, and taste data will lose their attractiveness and dietary properties.
Broilers are a profitable business. The birds are reared in cages, which allows them to have an impressive flock in a small area.
We butcher chickens simply by cutting off their heads with an axe. Suspend the animal by its legs or put it upside down in a bucket to get all the blood drained. If you slaughter a broiler chicken, and it weighs 4 kilos or more, you should tie its legs and put its wings behind its back when slaughtering.
How slaughterhouses kill thousands of chickens an hour
Before slaughtering selected broilers should not be fed for 18 hours. We give unlimited water and do not turn off lights. Under these conditions, the bird’s body becomes disoriented and begins to digest feed leftovers in the gut at a faster rate.
Fattening period
At this time, broilers will gain most weight, and so the feed will be increased substantially. Until the age of 40 days each animal should receive 100-150 grams of feed. How well everything will be organized depends on the weight gain (usually the broiler gains 700-2100 grams). Boiled potatoes, kefir and sunflower cake promotes weight gain.
Mashing is made with fresh fish and yeast, which has a positive effect on the weight gain. Feeding frequency 3-4 times a day. With a proper diet, the broiler will gain 50-55 grams daily.
Conditions for fattening broilers for slaughter
Meat chickens are unpretentious, but their diet and condition their early maturity and weight.
Poultry require special fattening. For healthy chicks, feeding programs need to be carefully selected and chicken raising programs implemented.
It is important to comply with the requirements of broiler chickens and take care of them daily:
- Location. Housed in cages or on bedding.
- The thickness of the bedding is at most 10 cm and includes sawdust or other uncooked mass. 18 broilers allowed per square meter.
- Temperature regime. In the first week of life youngsters provide a temperature range of 26 33 ° C, then reduce to 19 18 ° C.
- Illumination. Keep the hen house illuminated day and night. Light is dim. Lamp power 1.8 W per m2 in the first week, later 1.2 W until the 7th week of rearing and 0.6 W at the end. Sometimes the brightness of the light is the root cause of pecking. Colors the lamp lamp green or red.
- Cleanliness. Regularly monitor and maintain indoor conditions. Systematically clean and change the bedding. To prevent gastrointestinal dysfunction in broilers wash feeders along with drinkers with boiled water and disinfectants.
- Care. To prevent diseases, chickens are inspected daily and fed a balanced diet. Chickens that are lethargic and affected by the disease are isolated from the flock and treated.
Slaughtering of broilers, handling and storage of carcasses
Free the digestive tract before slaughtering by fasting. Broilers are kept without food for 6-8 hours, preferably during the day but with perfect light at night so as not to hinder digestive processes and cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract. If this is not done, food remains and excrement will decompose in the carcass and ruin the quality of the meat. When catching chicks it is necessary to take them by the legs and not the wings so as to avoid hematomas which could reduce the marketable appearance of the birds.
There are two ways to slaughter broilers: internally or externally. At internal method they cut blood vessels with scissors with sharp pointed ends through the mouth cavity (jugular vein and pontine vein junction).
The external slaughter of broilers is more accessible in private households. Using a sharp knife make an incision or puncture 15-20 millimeters below the left earlobe. Bleeding is carried out over a special trough for 2-3 minutes. Plucking is more convenient to perform immediately after slaughtering while the carcasses are not cold. Feathering of warm birds is easier and there is less danger of tearing the skin.
For external slaughter of broilers, it is best to pluck the carcasses using a half-stemmer. Water temperature and duration of heat treatment depends on age, bird weight and state of plumage (water temperature in the bath is 51-53°, length of stay of birds in water is 80-120 seconds). Increased water temperature leads to deterioration of marketable appearance, skin burns, sloughing of epidermis. To improve poultry treatment it is desirable to minimize the time between heat treatment and removal of plumage and not to allow the carcasses to cool down. First remove feathers from wings and tail, then from chest, back, legs. Feathers should be removed gently so as not to cause damage to the skin.
At mutilation, carcass is laid on the table with head pointing away from self, belly upward, circular incision is made around cloaca and a longitudinal cut of abdominal cavity wall in the direction from cloaca to keel of breastbone. Then with the right hand remove the intestines together with the cloaca and gently detach the end of the duodenum from the stomach, making sure not to tear the gastrointestinal tract.
If carcasses with full goiter are present, make longitudinal cut of skin at bottom of neck (without cutting goiter walls) and remove goiter through it. After half-gutting the carcasses are washed with cold running water.
When gutting broilers, internal organs other than kidneys and lungs are removed, head is cut off at the second cervical vertebra, legs are cut off up to heel joint, wings. up to the elbow joint.
Killed poultry can be kept chilled at 0-4° and 80% relative humidity for 4-5 days. The best method of preserving carcasses in the warm season. In refrigerators, during winter time. in an unheated utility room. The chicken can be kept fresh for several days in a closet, barn, etc. д. In summertime poultry carcasses can be kept fresh for several days by wrapping them in clean cloth soaked in vinegar. As the matter dries out, the process is repeated.
For prolonged storage, chilled poultry should be chilled at temperatures of 2-4°, but not less than zero for a period of 12-18 hours. Subsequently it is possible to freeze the carcasses at temperatures of minus 10-12°. To prevent the carcasses from sticking to the freezing chamber of the refrigerator, they are wrapped in parchment. After freezing, they are stored at temperatures of minus 5-6 °. Frozen poultry can be kept in the freezer for up to two-three months without loss of taste.
Broilers should be thawed gradually before cooking because meat loses its taste and nutritional quality when thawed quickly.