Today was the 54th day for the Cornish Cross broilers. We harvested the 12 largest of the 50 and found some surprises, both positive and negative.
#1. These birds stink.
The Cornish Cross broilers have no inclination to scratch at the litter in the coop. The floor soon becomes messy no matter how careful I am to spread sawdust over the worst areas and the birds make no effort to sit in clean places in the coop. In consequence, their chest and belly feathers collect dried manure to an extent noticeably greater than other types of birds we have raised. When they are dipped in the scalder to loosen their feathers, they quickly make the water foul and the steam carries the smell of hot manure.
#2. They are easy to pluck, but are more-easily damaged.
Because these birds have considerably less feather cover than most breeds, they only require 20-30 seconds in the plucker to be ready for evisceration. It is fortunate that they can be plucked with remarkable ease, because the risk of dislocating their joints and tearing their skin is proportional to the time in the plucker. Dislocations and compound fractures are more frequent than with other breeds.
This image shows the entire feather volume removed from 12 broilers. In comparison, 12 broilers of other breeds would leave a volume 3-4 times as large.
#3. They are easier to butcher, but messier.
Their internal organs are easy to remove because their thoracic cavities are generously sized and the organs seem less firmly attached to the birds. A downside is that they require more washing due to a greater abundance of tissue fragments and membrane left behind when the organs are pulled out. They don’t seem to bleed out as completely as other breeds, leaving more congealed blood to wash out. The butchering table required at least twice as many cleanings than in the past.
#4. They are easy to part.
The birds with a final weight over 7 pounds and those that were damaged by the plucker were cut into quarters. We separate the birds into thighs, chests, and wings, which are vacuum sealed for sale. We keep the backs and use them to make stock. The joints on these birds are easier to locate and yield more easily to the knife than the joints of other breeds. The poultry shears cut through their necks and ribs with such ease that Melissa has had none of the soreness in her hands that used to accompany the parting process.
We harvested this batch of broilers at an unhurried pace and completed the job in about 2.5 hours. It would have been considerably faster if we didn’t have extra cleanings of the butchering table, changes of the scalder water, and the wait for the fresh water to come up to temperature.
That cleaned bird at the top sure looks delicious!
Does the smell from their droppings stick to the skin at all? With no feathers under the wings, it would seem to be a catchall for contamination of manure in the water.
It seems that the smell washes off in the hot water.
Also, they are sprayed with clean water as they are plucked.
After all their feathers are removed they have their heads, feet, and internal organs removed.
They are washed again after that.
So, there isn’t much chance for any smell to linger.