Poultry Processing Worldwide
Hand versus mechanical
catching and loading of broilers
Broiler catching machines, or harvesters, have been developed over recent years and
commercial versions are becoming popular, especially where labour costs are high.
Researchers from Mississippi State University report here their first investigations to
compare the two methods directly, in terms of bird welfare, food safety and meat quality.
The catching machine used in this investigation
Drs Y. Vizzier-Thaxton, J.P. Thaxton and M. W. Shilling
The catching machine in operation
within a broiler house
Mechanical catching had
its inception in the need
for reduced cost and
consistent supply of labour for this
difficult task. As the machines were
developed, carcass damage at the
processing plant was used as one
of the criteria for evaluation. The
reports of broken wings, bruises
and birds dead on arrival (DOA) in
association with catching was viewed
by animal welfarists as an indication
that mechanical catching was more
humane than hand catching of
broilers. As researchers focused on
this, the results were conflicting and
often confusing. This was the direct
result of confounding variables that
occur after catching during transport
and handling at the plant. Efforts to
use more objective measurements
have been done in laboratory type
settings with mixed results. In an
effort to determine if there are
significant differences in bird quality
as a result of catching method using
objective measurements, a study
involving two separate experiments
were conducted under conditions
typical of a broiler operation in the
United States.
Experimental details
A tunnel ventilated, commercial
research house which is divided into
two identical units connected by a
control room was used in the studies.
Each unit housed 15,600 birds. At the
hatchery, birds from a single parent
flock were selected so that there was
an equal number from each incubator
in the broiler population making the
experimental flocks as close to identical
as possible. The birds were a straight
run Ross 508. One experiment was
performed in the summer and the other
in the winter. All management practices
met industry accepted standards and
the data were carefully monitored to
maintain conditions. Table 1 summarises
the management data.
At 54 days of age, the birds in
one section were caught manually
by an experienced catching crew
(subsequently called ‘manual’) and the
birds in the other section were caught
by a mechanical catcher operated by
experienced personnel (‘machine’).
Birds in both units were placed in
standard cages.
For experimental purposes, the
baseline or control samples were taken
immediately prior to catching (‘
pre-catch’). The next group of samples was
taken from cages immediately after
birds were placed in the cages. For the
post-catch samples, a cage of birds was
moved to the wall aisle of the house. It
was sampled 2 hours after catching. At
each sampling, 12 males and 12 females
were selected at random.
