4 Tips for Calculating Chicken Carcass Weight Accurately

Calculating chicken carcass weight is different from weighing a live bird. A live chicken still has all of its organs, unlike a dressed carcass. Once it becomes a carcass, the weight drops because several organs are removed from the body and sold separately. Carcass meat has already been plucked, and the head, feet and offal have been removed, so the weight falls sharply.

As a poultry farmer, you need to know how carcass weight is calculated so that when you sell to customers, you can be sure how much income you will earn from selling carcass meat. Getting the calculation wrong will cost your farm money.

Also read 6 Signs of a Quality Chicken Carcass, According to Ayamkita.com

Calculating Chicken Carcass Weight

To calculate carcass weight accurately, follow these tips:

1. Weigh the chicken before it is processed into a carcass. For example, weigh it carefully and correctly before it is plucked and before the head or feet are removed.
2. Weigh the bird again after plucking, and then remove the head, feet and offal.
3. Weigh the head, feet and offal you removed, which lets you work out the carcass weight, and write it down.
4. Repeat this for the other carcasses, because carcass weight varies from one bird to the next.

Getting the Most Carcass Meat

If most of your carcass weight calculations come out in the normal range, that is an achievement for your farm. A carcass of normal weight is a sign that the bird was well cared for while it was on the farm. If you haven't yet reached the best possible carcass weight, there are several things you can do to raise it for your next flock:

Choose the Right Breed

The first thing you can do is pick a meat breed that is easy to raise and puts on meat quickly. There is more than one kind of meat chicken. Broiler chickens, for example, can be harvested sooner than other meat breeds. If you want a business with fast capital turnover, choose a broiler breed that is ready for harvest quickly.

Also read 3 Accurate Ways to Calculate Chicken Carcass Weight

Separate Chickens by Sex

To get the most carcass meat, you should separate your chickens by sex. For example, don't mix hens with roosters. When they are mixed, the feed is not shared evenly because the males dominate. If this keeps happening, body weights across the flock become uneven. Birds that eat more end up heavier than those that eat less. To avoid this, make sure the feed is spread evenly and every bird gets enough of its share.

Harvest at the Right Age

To get the best possible chicken carcass weight, you have to harvest the birds at the right age. Broiler chickens go through distinct stages: starter, grower and finisher. Broilers should reach the finisher stage before harvest so their body weight and meat have developed fully.

Feed

A carcass with the best possible weight comes from nutritious feed. For your chickens to reach a normal weight, give them enough energy and protein so they keep gaining. Besides these two nutrients, you also have to meet their other nutritional needs, such as fat, fiber and so on. The birds' drinking water supply must never run out, so that all of these nutrients can be fully absorbed by the body.

Also read How to Process Frozen Carcass Meat the Right Way

That covers the key points about calculating chicken carcass weight you should know. We hope this information is useful.