Freezing 1000 Pounds of Chicken

240 chickens with an average weight of 4.5lbs. Important tips in this video.
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NOTES:

[@thomaspopke6009]

I love your videos so much and thanks to you I'm in the middle of my first round of broilers. Keep up the amazing work. How far along is your last round of broilers, for the season?

[@07negative56]

Something I find really helpful with the ice water mess. Is freezing a few 1/2 or 1 gallon jugs of water. And then a few 16oz bottles. I use that like a block of ice. And I’ll put those in a day or two before I go hunting or process chickens. Then add freshly frozen jugs.

[@davidmorris5555]

Bud, you’re a real asset to folks. We sure appreciate it. ✌🏻❤️🐓

[@ThePotatusMan]

John, If you don't have one, I would recommend a power fail alarm. That way if a breaker trips or something zany happens you are notified

[@1768ify]

A temperature probe in each freezer would be better

[@Stashof420]

Short, sweet, and very informative. Love your channel!

[@farmmarketing]

Thanks much!

[@rossgreatpiceofkitkeepupth660]

Love your videos John, very informative, Greeting from the uk

[@b33p]

I don't even farm and I watch these videos.

[@farmmarketing]

You may not farm, but everyone eats. Food is a universal language. Thanks for watching!

[@merylsarty3720]

@@farmmarketing you are so fun to watch. Thanks for your authenticity and gettin the job done right. Good one ya..

[@AT-Prophet]

How much time are we talking to let each batch freeze before you go back and add another layer of birds?

[@henk-janvisser3508]

Birds of no feather freeze together...

[@farmmarketing]

Well put

[@judyreynolds305]

Bahaha!!

[@chiedzavgwandanda5746]

😂

[@kerenmoore8828]

Great advice! So much condensed info. Love it!

[@farmmarketing]

I do my best Keren

[@SowtheLand]

I appreciate the video John! Thank you!

[@ivalat810]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I'm interested in how you squeeze the chickens before putting them in the fridge?Thank you 😀🐔

[@farmergirlofchickens8779]

Appreciate all your hard work. Glad to see you stress food safety. Here in Western NC the food processor has a stainless steel trailer that comes to the farms. People and all.

[@happyrootsfarm6156]

I might go with more standup freezers, but you’re videos are very helpful

[@rosemarie6016]

love your videos, I am just starting out raising some chickens in our back yard for eggs. I am having a lot of fun with it,

[@FunnyFarmHomestead]

Great video thx. Im processing ranbits so I enjoyed your tips. Thx!!

[@antonhuman8446]

So practical. Thanks!

[@amandaeastvold4855]

I wish I could love this video! Thank you thank you for sharing this process.

[@amykinnell2837]

As always, a super helpful, practical video.

[@farmmarketing]

Thanks Amy

[@richardbohlingsr3490]

I'm wondering if you process the 250 birds at once. If you do, do you pick up all 250 when they are finished or do you pick up only part of the birds over a say 3 or 4 day period so you can get them frozen each day. 250 would take a lot of refrigeration and freezer space. 60 birds a day would seem more manageable. It also looks like you can get more birds in a upright freezer at one time and still have space for all the birds to freeze.

[@outdoorsofeden]

How big is the chest freezer that you were loading the chickens into?

[@unknownvlogger6012]

How did you sealed the chicken mate?

[@Rickie53]

Watching these videos in 240p on my laptop connected to a hotspot from my phone on a rural farm somewhere in Alabama, lol. It'll be nice when I'm back at college and have the luxury of hd. Awesome videos though just subscribed. We have like 25 ish chickens and about as many cows, it's just a hobby farm. I've often thought of coming home after college and trying to build the layer operation up to something more industrial like. We have plenty of acreage. With many major fast food chains going to 100% cage free eggs in the near future, I wonder if one could land a contract selling to a distributor for one of the chains or something like that. Just an idea.

[@waltlars3687]

Whats is Your choice as the best style freezer

[@manman45671]

I’m looking to buy a freezer what size do you recommend for 50 birds

[@AnEerieWorld]

Does he say how many freezer? Or the dimensions of the freezer?

[@ajmendoza9198]

You mention that you use bleach for cleaning freezer and disinfection. I just started mg chicken business, can you suggest what bleach you use for disinfection? Or you just also buy pure bleach then dilute it

[@christineortmann359]

Great information- thanks

[@bigstarsfarm91]

I’m wanting to make sure I take enough coolers to the processor how many birds can you fit in your big marine coolers?

[@eross4594]

Great video. How many pounds per hour would you add.

[@portugeeprepper6821]

Good tips thanks John!!

[@farmmarketing]

No problem

[@dj_ath]

John I gotta say thanks. You put a lot of time into these videos and you are very thorough. I've learned so much.

[@800oaksfarmandranch6]

Love your videos sir! keep them coming! One question on this one. How did you learn what you had to do as far as cleanliness and sanitation goes to keep your product and customers safe?

[@farmmarketing]

That's a good questions Ryan. Tough to answer succinctly. I learned from talking to other farmers as well as giving a lot of thought as to where things can be contaminated along the way. On separate projects I have had to work with the local health department (opening a tasting room to the public) as well as I am HACCP certified for poultry slaughter.

[@800oaksfarmandranch6]

thank you

[@NaturesCadenceFarm]

Very helpful! 👍

[@poochyface1]

Thank you that really help me.

[@Mendingheartshomestead]

Hello! I have a question that I hope you’ll see. I recently butchered 6 cornish crosses (yes, only 6, I don’t have much land to work with and I’m just starting out). My 3 cockerels had much more yellow skin than the 3 pullets. Is there a particular reason for this? They all had the same diet and were all on the same grass, but I found it interesting that only the boys had yellow skin. They dressed out between 3 lb 12 oz and 5 lb 1 oz. Thank you!

[@deleteduser3749]

Haven't watched it and already like the video. Freezing way too much chicken. Life skills bro.

[@MrAzizisse]

What temperature is this freezer? How long can this meat last?

[@riordan381]

How long is the shelf life?

[@thomasturner3834]

This will be my 3rd year raising broiler chickens in Michigan. This year I want to start selling chickens, but I am finding it very difficult to find processers that are FDA approved. This is a big problem for me. Any ideas how to deal with this for a new guy. Thank you

[@sanjayaadhikari2590]

How month it will be safe

[@DADYSNAKS]

Do you think that dry ice might be a better option to keep the birds cold?

[@MrVailtown]

You might already know these. Is that shed vented well ? The cooler the area around the freezers would allow faster cool down times. Might want to check condenser coils to, they love dirt & dust bunnies which hurts cool down time = cost. Simple remedies take a few minutes might just save you lots of cash in the long run. How much is processing per bird 2.50$ a bird ?

[@nydawijai5945]

How would one thaw large amounts of chicken? Like a 50 lb. box??

[@sanjayaadhikari2590]

Expire in how many days?

[@CTCLures]

I heard you say insurance? Do you have to have insurance to sell to the public or is it something for protection?

[@deleteduser3749]

Homeboy said "I drain all the water out and I 💦 inside".

[@believingtheoutdoorschanel3241]

For the first time I'm going to get some meat birds. Can someone tell about how much feed normally per chicken.

[@CiecieNewson]

You think of everything. I put my bagged meat in a zip lock bag, but on a large scale I see why the clip and wipe method is so much better. ~Smile!

[@farmmarketing]

Zip locks work. When I first processed birds I used large ziplock bags (it was a smaller batch of birds).

[@bspeierman]

John, you don't let your meat age before freezing? We raised out first batch of broilers this spring and were told to age them 3-5 days before freezing. We cooked one at 3 days and one at 5 or 6 days to test the tenderness out. The second one was definitely more tender.

[@jasonandsara5667]

I am wondering the same. I also age in dedicated poultry fridge for 24-48 hours before bag and freeze. Brad and John, do you Bag....age....freeze or age.....bag.....freeze? Thanks John for your super informative content!

[@bspeierman]

Pepper, I've only raised broilers one time, but the USDA processor I used here recommended I age them in the refrigerator for 3-5 days before freezing. Since we were curious about how much of a difference it would make we tried one at 3 days and one at 5. We didn't try one on day one, so I don't know how much of a difference the first 3 days made, but the last 2 made a big difference. Our processor bagged all of our chickens, so they were all aged in bag, not hung like beef. Our beef processor hangs the meat for 3 weeks.

[@lessycurls]

I age my birds too 3 days in fridge then freeze. But I'm doing no more than 10 at a time.

[@joesears584]

I just watched a video about chicken while eating some chicken 🍗

[@farmmarketing]

Inception...

[@benjaminhampton7168]

What's the cost difference between using Dry Ice as opposed to regular ice for transport? It would almost eliminate your moisture issue and get the birds cooler faster. Sanitation is the foundation, I'm glad you covered that.

[@farmmarketing]

Availability would be my first thought. I'd have to go out of my way to get dry ice whereas I can get regular ice at most stores and gas stations.

[@mattbenson2497]

Why not have your processor freeze them?

[@DustinDean]

my husband and me are talking about raising meat chickens next year on our farm.

[@gamechangertmc3994]

I have a question for you bro

[@sweetheartsmom]

My usda processor refuses to use shrink wrap even if i supply the bags so i am going to need to fo that myself when i bring the birds home! However i need to leave the labeled bag on them remove the twist tie bag and shrink, then document and freeze. Huge amount of work but they sre my only option

[@farmmarketing]

Following regulation can be a real burden. It's all there for a reason. Someone at some time did a bad job and got people sick so now we all have stricter rules. That and the big guys have lobbied to make meat processing tougher for the small guys. Keep fighting the good fight!

[@UnchainedCyclist]

If you invest in a small walk in freezer, you could store the meat in coolers in the freezer and if you have a power outage the meat wouldn't thaw immediately. I do this with meat in my deep freeze

[@johnnyrobinson1774]

what would the cost be to start processing on the farm?

[@07negative56]

My processing setup cost about $1500. But I’m using a really inexpensive plucker. But I rent out that plucker for $25 a day. I’ve seen $200,000 setups as well. All depends on how deep your pockets are. Or how much you like having debt

[@edymurg98]

How many birds can you store in that room?

[@PeterSedesse]

About how many birds can you get in a horizontal freezer?

[@farmmarketing]

This is going to comes across as a BS answer but, depends on the size of the freezer. Think about 1 square foot per bird in general. A processed chicken is like a gallon jug of milk.

[@busyrand]

@@farmmarketing Wow. That was actually a perfect answer with examples that help visualize the chicken size.

[@dosdoggies]

What portable coolers do you use?

[@farmmarketing]

I got huge fishing coolers from Costco. You can usually only find them in the Spring, but if you do they're only $99. They get super heavy though, so unless you're feeling burly or have a more clever way to move them I'd go with more smaller coolers than fewer huge coolers.

[@baileyhodges2584]

@@farmmarketing how many birds can fit in one

[@shanerasmussen6207]

One burning question I have....Where can I get a FMS hat????

[@farmmarketing]

I know Shane I know! I'm getting there.

[@AH-mj1rd]

You need a blast freezer, this is not how you freeze chicken, - 40C within 6 hours, from that out goes to freezer room for storage at - 20C

[@pianovoce]

Would it make sense to put the solar panels on the roof there, to have more electricity if there's power outage? :)

[@farmmarketing]

We actually have a bunch of solar on farm. It's expensive to put in. So while I don't have it for this shed, I do have it for a bunch of other things on farm/brewery.

[@sanjayaadhikari2590]

Expire days..?

[@ralphy1989]

How much is your electric bill?

[@thesusboomerroblox6516]

I’m making a chicken store all 100% chicken non factory grown from a farm and that gets more sales mainly because of how people are today

[@thecynic807]

You should sell all of those freezers and get a walk in. You can find a used walk in freezer at failed restaurants and then buy the working parts new. You can set the temp on walk ins at 0 degrees.

[@thecynic807]

Or turn that shed into a walk in freezer.

[@benjaminhampton7168]

A walk in would be great if he had a constant amount of product in stock. They are huge power hogs though, so using multiple freezers allows a scalable solution.

[@farmmarketing]

What Ben said. That and even used walk-ins are expensive in my area, I priced it out. That and I would still have to have an electrician come hook it up. Many freezers was my lost cost, low friction solution.

[@bobbychaney8372]

excellent job sorry it will only let me give you 1 thumbs up

[@farmmarketing]

Thanks Bobby. One is enough. I'm glad you're here.

[@jeetsingh6719]

jeet singh

[@MrTowaltowel]

This is not how you froze a chicken... U should use blast freezer.. -35 degree centigrade under 8 hours...

[@charleslafferty1]

I was going to like the video regardless, but I felt obligated since it was sitting at 666 likes.

[@oceanopescayaventuras8205]

All this for $2000 correct?

[@07negative56]

He’s probably making somewhere near $10,000 for 2,000lbs of chicken.

[@bgmanufacturing]

Hello sir how can I contact with you. Can you provide your Gmail address. For some questions about chicken store

[@sanjayaadhikari2590]

Expire in how many days?