Layers start a second year of egg production usually after 71 to 78 weeks of age; however, the eggs produced are inferior in number and quality to those produced in the first year. The birds should be culled at the end of their first year of production and sold for meat. As discussed in Chapter 1, a producer may have up to a maximum of four different age flocks present at one time on the farm, which indicates that culled birds are sold on an occasional basis. The sale of culled birds provides extra income to the producer.
In the tropics and in dry areas, slaughtered layer meat deteriorates very quickly if refrigeration is not available. For this reason, layer meat is purchased either live or just slaughtered. Unless carcasses can be chilled rapidly and kept below a temperature of 4° C, they should be sold within a few hours after slaughter.
Composition and attributes of layer meat
Weight is a determinant characteristic in the marketing of live birds. The type of feed, the breed of the bird and how it has been treated will define the weight of each layer. The main constituents of layer meat are water, protein, and fat. Increases in collagen and elastin, the proteins forming the connective muscle tissues, are related to the toughness of the meat of layer birds.
Variations in the amount of deposited fat are associated with quality. The age and sex of a bird influence the fat content, as does a high caloric diet.
Layer meat provides a good source of high quality protein, iron and phosphates and the B vitamins riboflavin and niacin. The vitamin content of the meat is influenced to a very large degree by the vitamin content of the feed consumed.
Eating quality
Meat varies in acceptability to consumers according to its tenderness, juiciness and flavour when cooked. Age and sex are the primary characteristics distinguished in commercial poultry handling. Broilers, which are birds reared specifically for meat, can be marketed from the age of 8 weeks up to 20 weeks. Birds under 12 weeks of age, of either sex, have very tender meat. Birds between 12 and 16 weeks of age, of either sex, also have relatively tender meat and can be cooked by roasting. Birds that are marketed between 16 and 20 weeks have meat that is less tender but which can also be cooked by roasting. The meat of mature layers (over 20 weeks old at the time of culling) is less tender than that of a roaster and therefore is best cooked by steaming or simmering in water.
Appearance
Layer birds must be sound, healthy, clean and fit for human consumption. The birds must have a healthy appearance. Missing or displaced feathers, bare skin in evidence and broken bones or cuts detract from the appearance of a carcass. If the bird is not in good condition, the consumer will not buy the bird even though it has been slaughtered, as the carcass will show the defects.
Measures to prevent deterioration during marketing
In tropical and dry climates, the most common form of marketing poultry meat is to sell the birds live. The quality of birds is affected greatly by the methods employed in transporting them from the farm. Considerable death losses, broken wings and legs, and bruises result if birds are handled roughly or carried in unsuitable or overcrowded containers.
Live birds must be transported in a manner that allows for plenty of air ventilation to protect the birds from heat. Birds should be transported in crates, constructed so that the birds’ legs cannot pass through the bars yet air can circulate easily. Crates of wire netting on a wood frame are safe, light in weight, and suitable for handling and transport. The entrance of the crate should be easy to open and close and centrally situated so that all parts of the crate are within reach.
When birds are being caught for marketing, they should be caught with a crook as shown below.
Catching birds
Source: Smith, 1990
The bird should be approached from behind, the crook should be placed just above the foot and the bird picked up gently with care. Under tropical and subtropical conditions, this operation should be carried out at the end of the day in dim light or darkness, when the birds are more docile. Once caught, the birds should be placed in the crate as seen below.
Placing birds in a crate
Source: Smith, 1990
The bird should be lowered gently into the crate, head first, the wings held close to the body with one hand, with the other hand gently holding the legs. Overcrowding in each crate must be avoided. For example, a crate that has dimensions of 80 ´ 60 ´ 30 cm will hold a maximum of ten birds. Crates must be handled with great care and fastened safely when they are loaded onto transport vehicles. Transport must take place during the cooler part of the day in order to avoid the birds being exposed to sunlight and heat. They must not be shaken or jolted excessively when being transported and the time spent travelling must not be excessive. Weight losses ranging from one to three percent during transport from farm to market or processing plant are common.
Marketing slaughtered birds
Birds to be marketed should be fasted before being slaughtered. If birds are fed mash, they should be fasted four to six hours before slaughter; if fed grain, ten hours of fasting will be required. But if feed and water are withheld from the birds for fourteen hours or longer, there is a high risk of the guts breaking during slaughter, which would enable organisms such as salmonella to infect the meat, the slaughtering tools and the slaughtering area during processing.
When refrigeration is available it is possible to market the birds in the following manner:
The rate of quality deterioration or spoilage depends very much on the form in which the carcass is marketed. A bird with only feathers and blood removed will spoil much more slowly than eviscerated, cut-up or boned carcasses. Spoilage bacteria are confined largely to the intestinal tract and skin. These organisms are rapidly dispersed in the tissues of eviscerated, cut-up or boned carcasses and there are few or no natural defences to prevent their multiplication. The cold temperatures found in refrigeration slow down contamination.
Grading and standardization
Grading of live poultry is generally informal. Buyers note the breed, age, weight and general condition of the birds on offer. Because the feathers obscure the proportion of flesh to bones, they usually catch a few birds and feel the breasts to see how much meat they carry. Price negotiations will then proceed on the basis of market price. Broad standards, such as weight, appearance and ease in processing, are used to distinguish first and second quality grades, but essentially this is difficult and subjective.
Formal standards and grades can be adapted more easily to carcasses because the quality features can be seen more clearly. The following factors are usually considered:
All these features are appraised in relation to species, sex and age.
Conditions for standardized grading
The feasibility of applying uniform quality standards depends very much on how birds are marketed. Because of the difficulty of classifying live birds by more than broad age, sex and type categories, standardized grading in most countries relates only to the marketing of birds already in carcass form. Consumer interest in standardized grading is also related closely to the form in which the bird is sold. If the consumers can see and handle the live birds, they are able to form their own conclusions regarding quality. The greater the degree of processing undertaken during marketing the more difficult this becomes. Age and condition are difficult to judge in cut-up and packaged meat and a grade label becomes the buyers’ main guide. Trading must be on a constant and large scale if grading is to be undertaken systematically and accurately. Ease in the adoption of uniform grading procedures is also related to the degree of standardization that has been reached in the production process.
Where substantial quantities of meat are wholesaled and retailed as carcasses, and proper refrigeration is available during handling and marketing, there are many advantages in standardized grading. For example, transactions between distant markets can take place without personal inspection by the buyer.
The degree of processing undergone during marketing varies greatly both between and within countries. It depends primarily on the form in which the consumer wishes to take delivery of the bird and, secondly, on the equipment available to enterprises and distributors. Some consumers buy live birds and slaughter them when needed, particularly if refrigeration is not available. Many consumers do not want to kill the birds themselves, however, they may wish to see the birds alive before buying them. This is very important in areas where production is not specialized. In these areas sellers usually hold stocks of live birds in cages so that consumers can see them. Once a sale has been made, the seller slaughters and dresses the bird according to consumer desires.
A bird can be slaughtered by dislocating its neck or by cutting its throat. The blood must be completely drained out and then the feathers can be plucked. Dry plucking involves plucking feathers by hand when the body is still warm. Usually four to ten birds can be plucked per hour. Once feathers have been removed the carcass can be prepared accordingly: dressed, eviscerated/ready to cook, poultry parts or boned.
In countries where consumers prefer ready-to-cook birds and refrigeration is widely available for processing, transportation, selling and storing, mechanized processing is widely used (see Photograph 32).
It is important to gather information first to see if there is a market for culled birds. Sales would be on an occasional basis, therefore, it is advisable to ascertain whether consumers and retailers would want to buy live birds at such irregular intervals. Producers usually have a marketing system developed to sell eggs and it may be possible to sell culled birds using the same system. Direct marketing includes door-to-door sales, street hawking, selling at a producer’s local market and selling to local retailers.
Some consumers prefer to have the birds slaughtered after they have inspected them alive. This would involve learning how to slaughter and pluck birds properly. An easy and practical method to slaughter live birds at a customer’s home, on the street or at a producer’s market would be necessary. Provision must be made for transportation of the birds in cages. A larger vehicle may be required so the cages can be transported along with the eggs. When transporting live birds and eggs together it is important that the quality of eggs does not deteriorate because of bird manure.
A careful evaluation of the costs involved and the income obtained from the direct sale of live birds must be made to see if this method of marketing is worthwhile. Furthermore, the time spent by the producer attending to clients, slaughtering birds and cleaning up after the slaughter must be taken into consideration.
Farm-gate sales also involve slaughtering the birds for the consumers. It is important to know how to slaughter a bird and how to pluck and prepare the carcass. It is necessary to buy proper utensils and to have a location where the birds can be slaughtered. Before slaughtering, the birds must be checked for disease and other problems such as cuts, broken bones, etc. The slaughtering and processing procedures shown below must be carried out in a covered area that is well ventilated and clean. All utensils and equipment used for slaughtering must be kept clean.
Slaughtering. Birds can be slaughtered by dislocation of the neck, cutting of the jugular vein, stunning and cutting, piercing of the brain and decapitation. The most common used are dislocation of the neck, cutting the jugular vein and stunning.
Bleeding. All the blood must be removed from the bird. This can be done by placing the slaughtered bird in a bleeding cone or holding the bird above a bucket for one and one-half to two minutes. For hygienic reasons it is important that the blood is not allowed to spread in the slaughtering areas.
Plucking. Dry plucking consists of removing the feathers from the bird when it is still warm by hand or by machine. Scalding makes plucking easier. It involves placing the bird in hot water (between 50° and 55° C) for about two minutes and then plucking the feathers by hand or machine. A common plucking machine has two drums with rubber fingers that revolve in opposite directions pulling the feathers off the body in a downward motion.
Evisceration. At this point the bird can be processed to fit the consumers’ requirements. The carcasses can be dressed, boned and cut into pieces. The feet, head, neck and giblets, heart, liver and gizzard can be removed. Careful attention must be paid not to break or cut the intestines of the bird because this would release many harmful organisms into the meat.
Chilling. (This is possible only where refrigeration is available.) Before chilling, the meat and the giblets have to be washed thoroughly and left to drain. The meat and giblets can be chilled in cold water, slush ice, crushed ice or solid carbon dioxide. To chill to the optimum cold storage temperature of between 2° and 4° C will take about 45 minutes.
Packaging. The selection of materials for packaging depends on needs such as physical strength, permeability to water vapour and other gases, transparency, cold resistance and heat sealing properties. The bird can be packed with the giblets, which are packed in a clean plastic bag and placed inside the bird or packed separately. The carcass can be placed in a plastic bag, from which as much air as possible has been drawn, and firmly sealed.
Storage. Meat can be kept for seven days at a temperature of 2° C; however, if storage is required for a longer period it is best to store at a temperature of - 5° C or even to - 18° C.
Collectors, who regularly visit production facilities to collect eggs, may be interested in buying the culled hens. Processor-packers, wholesalers and retailers may also be interested. Alternatively, producers can market the culled birds separately from existing egg marketing arrangements. They will have to determine whether it is more feasible to market the birds directly or to use channel members for their marketing. The producer will have to evaluate costs against income obtained from the sale of birds. For example, a producer could dispatch the entire lot of birds to an abattoir, where they would be slaughtered, processed and packed. This may be feasible in terms of costs and income. Yet, alternatively there could be a higher income in selling the birds separately at a local producers’ market. South African egg producers sell their culled birds to entrepreneurs who run spent hen depots, and who in turn may sell them to street hawkers.
