News

New Years Update

Poultry processing will resume in March. Dates will be set when requests for service are received. Abattoir Society members will receive advance notice of the dates available.

Red meat processing will begin as soon as the remaining equipment, now on order, has been installed and the licence issued. This might be as soon as late January, but cannot be guaranteed. Booking off island is recommended if you need immediate slaughter service.

Since September 28th 2012 the abattoir has processed 1239 chickens, 266 turkeys and several dozen ducks and geese from 45 poultry growers, providing part time employment for seven workers.

Happy New Year to all our clients and supporters!

Safe transport of chickens

Meat chickens take many weeks to grow, and much time and effort to keep them healthy until the day they become food. Mistakes on that last day can reduce meat quality and value.

Chickens can be damaged by rough handling when picked up for loading, by being pushed into boxes with an opening that is too small, or by being crowded so that they trample and suffocate each other, or peck each other until they draw blood.  All this can be prevented if transport methods are appropriate for the size of the birds.

Plastic chicken crates with a sliding door near the middle of the top are lightweight, easy to clean, well ventilated and available for rent or purchase from Foxglove Farm and Garden Supplies. They can easily be stacked, and can help you count your chickens if you always load the same number to a crate. Many people have made their own wooden boxes that have all these features, but they are usually larger and heavier than the plastic ones and are not as easy to clean.

Some of the chickens received at the abattoir have been in tiptop health, clean and gently handled, with every one in a large batch arriving safely and passing inspection. Others have had an uncomfortable last day, exposed to wind and rain en route and looking very bedraggled and muddy on arrival. Many cages have broken fastenings or an opening that is impossible for one person to operate. Judging by the volume of droppings in the cages it is clear that some owners forget to remove feed on the last day. The abattoir has a covered area for chicken crates but not for trailers or pickup loads, so it is up to you to provide adequate shelter on the road and for the short wait after arrival if you are not using crates. Chicken size may also affect meat quality as very big chickens are too large for the chicken cones and too small for the turkey ones, so are much more difficult to slaughter without damage. The same applies to turkeys too large for the extra large turkey cone, which is why the abattoir staff prefer turkeys that weigh less than 30 lbs live.

We can process waterfowl

On October 26th the abattoir processed 6 coloured Muscovy ducks as an experiment and staff training exercise. Our cones were a suitable size and the scalding and plucking was accomplished without any damage to the skin. A lot more hand picking was needed to remove the small feathers from the breast. We did not attempt to remove all feathers from the legs.

Other abattoirs have said that ducks take 4 times as long as chickens. We found that it took even longer and did not give a very satisfactory appearance. The recommended method for removing duck or goose down is to immerse the carcass in hot wax then dip it in cold water. When the solidified wax is peeled off the down is pulled off with it. The wax can be filtered and reused. We plan to try this soon.

If you urgently need waterfowl processed please make your request through the online booking system and we will give you a price, based on the quality of carcass desired and your availability as a volunteer to help with plucking. 

Abattoir opening news release

The agriculture community on Salt Spring Island will be celebrating this week.  The Salt Spring Abattoir will open on Friday September 28th to process turkeys for Thanksgiving, followed by chickens. The usual working days will be Wednesday and Friday, with Thursdays added if needed.

The red meat licence will be obtained when the last remaining items of equipment have arrived and been installed. This is anticipated in November, but the date cannot be guaranteed, so bookings should still be made off island if a firm processing date is needed.

An Open House will be held in December when all the work is complete.

The abattoir is located at 1447 Fulford Ganges Road, near Garner Rd. The buildings and trailer are moveable in the event that a permanent site can be found. All the buildings and equipment are owned by the community, through the Agricultural Alliance. It will be operated by employees of the Salt Spring Abattoir Society, formed in June 2012 for this purpose. The founding volunteer directors are Jean Brouard, chair, Sandy Robley, treasurer, Rollie Cook, secretary, Margaret Thomson representing the Agricultural Alliance and Mark Hughes who owns the site.

The Abattoir Society is working hard to raise the remaining money needed to achieve debt free status at the outset, which has been the goal from the start of this project. The final cost will be close to $400,000 covered by a government grant of $150,000 and the remainder by donations from the community. It will operate on a cost recovery basis, offering high animal welfare standards and fair wages for employees.

Membership in the Abattoir Society will cost $20 a year. It is not mandatory to be a member to have livestock  processed, but members will be able to have a say in how the facility is run by voting at the AGM and choosing the future directors.

Due to a change in provincial regulations slaughter service has been unavailable on Salt Spring for the past 5 years, resulting in a marked decline in meat production, which appears now to be reversing. To make a booking for poultry processing before October 6th please write to windrush@telus.net or phone 250 537-4669. A website will be available soon with an online booking form.

The Salt Spring Livestock Producers group would like to thank Brent Baker who has done an amazing job of designing, redesigning, building and equipping this unique facility. Thanks are also due to the many local tradesmen who have contributed to this major agricultural project

Opening Date Update

The opening date will be announced here as soon as it is known. Construction is now almost complete and we hope that poultry slaughter can begin directly after the next inspection by the licencing authorities. The earliest possible opening date is September 29th, which would be reserved for Thanksgiving turkeys. If there are no further changes required slaughter service will be available on Wednesdays and Fridays for chickens and turkeys in October and for red meat starting in November.

As we still cannot guarantee our start date please continue to book slaughter elsewhere for just a little longer. Thank you for your patience.