Feather release force in minimally scalded broilers stunned with carbon dioxide or electricity

Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2472, USA.

Broilers were stunned with carbon dioxide or electricity prior to slaughter to evaluate feather release force (FRF) following scalding with conventional or abbreviated scald methods. Broilers (n = 72) were stunned using an electrical saline stunner (35 mA, 60 Hz AC, 7 s) or shackle-line CO2 gas stunning tunnel (15 to 40% CO2 gradient for 90 s). After bleeding for 90 s, the broilers were then scalded with a soft scald (53 C for 120 s) or a softer scald (53 C for 90 s). Within 2 min after scalding, feathers from the right femoral feather tract were removed perpendicularly using a force gauge to evaluate FRF. The FRF for the soft scald was higher than that for the softer scald. The FRF results indicated that there were no significant differences between the two stunning treatments (CO2 and electrical) for either scalding treatment.