Experimentation with In-Line Carbon Dioxide Immobilization of Chickens Prior to Slaughter

INTRODUCTION THE use of carbon dioxide to immobilize hogs prior to sticking has been reported to be successful in reducing the tearing of hams, and in minimizing the effort, noise, danger, and dirt in shackling and sticking hogs (Swem, 1952). If this method were adaptable to commercial chicken processing, the benefits derived from such a practice might parallel those obtained with hogs. Immobilizing chickens would reduce or eliminate struggling during shackling, sticking, and bleeding. Thus shackling would be facilitated, a more uniform cut would be obtained, and noise associated with shackling would be reduced. Turkeys were shown to be effectively immobilized by carbon dioxide (Drewniak et al., 1955). Chickens also were shown to be susceptible to immobilization when proper carbon dioxide concentrations and exposure times were used (Kotula et al., 1957). The purpose of this work was to determine whether effective commercial processing line immobilization of chickens with carbon dioxide …