The meat chicken farm sequence is as follows. The same general principles of caring for layer chickens also apply on a meat chicken farm but there are a few differences. Meat chickens are always fed pelleted feed, which is more efficient as less wastage occurs than when mash is used. Pelleting also improves the digestibility of the feed. The pellets may be broken down into smaller sizes, called crumbles, for very small chicks.

Brooding or Starting

This is the period when chicks need additional heat to keep warm for about three weeks. The air temperature under the brooder should be about 35oC at first and should be reduced by 1-2oC per day until it reaches 23oC at about three weeks of age. In Australian meat chickens are all raised on litter floors, but some overseas companies use wire-floored cage systems.

The number of chickens in a meat chicken shed is usually high. Some sheds in Australian contain 30 000 meat chickens. Sophisticated brooding systems have been developed which include gas-fired radiant heat sources, through gas-fired hot air blasters, and fully controlled environment sheds with special heated air being passed through ducts to the chickens.

High protein (22%) starter rations are fed to young meat chickens to ensure they grow as much as possible early in life. This may be continued for 18-24 days. A medicine, called a coccidiostat, is added to the feed of meat chickens to prevent the intestinal disease coccidiosis.

Growing or Finishing

At this stage, growth is still very important, but since feed is expensive careful costing is carried out to keep expenses to a minimum. Thus a lower level of protein (19%) is fed from about three weeks of age to slaughter, which is commonly at 42 days of age. When heavy weight birds are required for filleting, they are slaughtered at up to 56 days of age. A coccidiostat, sometimes a different one from that used in starter feed, is added to finisher feed. Some meat chickens go through a separate rearing stage, with a special rearing ration being fed to them before they are placed on a finisher feed, but most go straight from starter to finisher feed.

Catching

Getting finished meat chickens from the farm to the factory is a delicate business. Most catching is done at night as birds are quieter then, and this also gets them to the processor early in the morning with less delay before slaughter. Delay means stress and weight loss. Mechanical devices for harvesting meat chickens have been invented. Results are variable and most Australian meat chicken are still caught by hand.

Broiler processing is highly mechanised

Processing line

Processing

When chickens arrive at the processor they go through the following sequence:

·        Hanging by the legs on a shackle

·        Stunning using an electrically charged water bath

·        Killing by cutting the blood vessels in the neck

·        Bleeding so that most blood has left the carcass

·        Scalding to soften the attachment of the feathers

·        Plucking to remove the feathers

·        Head removal

·        Gutting or evisceration to remove the internal organs

·        Washing to remove blood and soiling from the carcass

·        Hock cutting to remove the feet

·        Chilling to prevent bacterial spoiling

·        Draining to allow excess water to drip off the carcass

·        Weighing

·        Cut selection to divide the carcase into desired portion (breast, drumsticks etc.)

·        Packing In plastic bags to protect carcasses or cuts

·        Chilling or freezing for preservation

During the processing sequence, grading of carcasses is done at convenient times to remove poor quality meat which is used for cut-up (further processing) purposes or, if badly affected, might be used for pet food, or condemned and cooked to be made into meat meal for stock feed.

Removal of breast meat

Further Processing and storage

This term is used to describe any additional processing which may be done to carcasses. It includes cutting up into portion, deboning carcasses and preparing special ready-to-cook products. Cooking is an additional process which is carried out in some processing plants. Almost all chicken meat was once frozen and could be stored for a long time, but most is now sold chilled. Chilled chicken meat must be cooked before it spoils. The shelf life of chicken meat is usually eight to 12 days, depending on the processing, handling and storage conditions.

Marketing

In Australia most chicken is sold under the brand name and market competition is very strong. The average amount of chicken eaten has risen rapidly as prices have fallen. These changes have taken place at the expense of the beef and lamb industries