Poultry Harvest

Pre-Harvest Day
All feed MUST be pulled from birds by 11:00am on the day prior to harvest.  Maintain water but pull all feed from the birds.  

 

Harvest Day

We will arrive before dawn to set up our equipment and begin the slaughter.  Birds are less active in the early morning hours of the day when the setting is typically quieter and more tranquil, which results in less stress for the birds.  Our process includes slaughter, scalding, plucking (de-feathering), evisceration (cleaning), and bagging.  During evisceration you may also choose to keep any portion of the offal which includes the heart, liver, neck, gizzard, head and feet.  These items will be bagged separately from whole birds.  

Scheduling
*To ensure that we can lock in a processing date, please call to make your appointment when you receive your chicks, not when birds are ready to process!  Our poultry processing season runs from early spring through late fall.  Poultry processing is by appointment only.  We can process batches as small as 10 birds or up to 100 birds in one day.  Please contact us as early as possible to schedule a harvest date. 

Logistics
We are a mobile unit that provides custom processing at your location.  Each farm, homestead, and backyard are unique in their own way, however no matter the location we must have your cooperation to provide a few basic essentials to allow us to operate efficiently at the time of processing.  Below is a checklist of the items that we ask that you secure as part of our agreement:

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• Feed Withdrawal - Please withhold feed prior to slaughter (maintain water supply!).  Doing this will significantly decrease the amount of excrement and result in a clean, safe product. Please set yourself a reminder to do this as it is easy to forget and by the time you remember it may be too late.  As we typically begin processing in early morning on appointment day, a good rule of thumb is to remove feed at 11:00am the day prior.

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• Water Supply – Our processing equipment requires a supply of running and pressurized water.  An outdoor water spigot is sufficient, as long as it is located within a reasonable distance from the location where the birds are contained.  We will supply all hoses.

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• Electricity – Access to a standard 110V electrical outlet located within a reasonable distance to the birds is required to operate our plucker and vacuum bagging equipment.  We will supply all extension cords.

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• Containment – Birds must be contained for ease of accessibility.  Normally free-ranging birds must be corralled and caged prior to our scheduled service time.  This is key not only for our operating efficiency, but it also ensures that birds have been restricted from feed (free-ranging birds cannot be guaranteed to have been restricted from feed or from foraging).  Please pre-plan to ensure that on the day of your scheduled harvest that your birds are contained in an area that will be accessible for our mobile slaughter trailer and will have access to pressurized water and a 110V electrical outlet.

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• Plan for Storage – Your freshly processed birds are now beautifully cleaned and bagged.  Now what?  Do you have a place to store and cool your birds?  After processing, it is critical that your birds be refrigerated at 40F to ensure rapid carcass cooling and inhibit bacterial growth. We ask our customers to please plan in advance to have a means of refrigerating/cooling your birds as each bird comes off the bagging line of our process.  

For more information or to schedule processing, please contact:

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Jason Brake - Owner/Operator

​248.321.6548

Northern Path Meatworks

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