Handling Poultry
Handling Poultry
Length: 00:02:54 | Emily Shoop
Birds need to be handled properly to prevent injury to them and to you. Before you get your birds, be sure that everyone in the family is familiar with how poultry should be safely handled. Watch this video to learn the safe way to pick up and hold birds.
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- If you are a poultry keeper, at some point you will have to pick up your birds.
Maybe you need to examine them for external parasites or health issues or maybe you just want to interact with them.
When you pick up a bird, make sure your movements are slow and deliberate to prevent the bird from getting overly excited.
Let's look at how to pick up this rooster.
Did you get that?
Let's break it down.
First, calmly approach the bird.
Turn the bird so that it is facing you.
Wrap your hands around its sides, restraining its wings so that it can't flap.
Then gently push down until it is sitting on the ground.
This gently restrains the bird, preventing it from running away from you.
Lift its whole body, not just the wings.
You can tuck its head under your arm which will help it stay calm.
Once you have it in your hands, you can support the bird with one arm and cover the wings with the other hand to prevent injury or flapping.
We use a chicken in this demonstration, but you can use the same technique to pick up other kinds of poultry such as small ducks, turkeys and guinea fowl.
Remember, these birds can be much bigger and may not be as easy to restrain.
If you have broilers, you need to be extra careful when you handle them as demonstrated here.
Never grab broilers by their legs or wings.
These limbs are very fragile and can break easily, causing pain and loss of product at processing.
On the other hand, water fowl are best carried by their wings.
Because water fowl are natural fliers, their wings are not as fragile as other fowl.
Their legs, however, are very sensitive.
Use one or two hands to grasp the wings where they meet the bird's back.
This is a perfectly humane way of subduing and transporting water fowl.
You can also hold water fowl with an arm under the body.
Birds may feel more secure using this method.
Now that you know how to handle poultry, be sure to instruct family members in the proper techniques.
The more everyone practices, the more comfortable everyone including the birds will be.
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