Attention

Due to high-demand, it is advised that customers book their slaughter date(s) prior to ordering their birds from the hatchery (see Small Producers Links page for hatchery recommendations). Both booking and ordering should occur well in advance of the slaughter date you desire.

By the end of the 2009 season, all customers must have applied for a Docking-Station Permit in order to be eligible for on-site slaughter. The application can be found on our Small Producers Links page, and must be filled out and sent to the address found on the bottom of the first page of this document once it is completed. To complete the information needed for the Mobile Information section, email the owner at peggy@okpoultryprocessing.com.

Mobile Processing

Mobile processing allows the benefit of on-farm slaughter of your product, helping to ensure the humane treatment of your flock. As published in the BC SPCA Farm Sense magazine, “...the use of mobile abattoirs provides the distinct benefit of promoting animal welfare by eliminating animal transport and the associated stress.” Through mobile processing, Okanagan Poultry Processing (OPP) saves the transportation costs of getting your animals to a slaughter facility while also reducing the stress on the birds caused by cramped travel conditions.Operating within a 100 kilometre radius of Kelowna, OPP offers small-scale poultry producers a viable means of poultry production.

Though currently a Class C Transistionally licensed operation, we will be undergoing modifications throughout the year in order to meet the Class B licensing requirements. Under a Class B license, all the birds we slaughter will be government inspected, thus opening up your product to a wider public market. Until that time, all birds we process will be marked with a label reading: “Not Government Inspected.” These birds cannot be sold to resale vendors (i.e. restaurants, grocers, etc.) but are acceptable for farm-gate sales.

Processing Procedures and Prices

Upon arrival, we require a flat parking space (55ft X 10ft) which meets Docking-Station standards, and a hose with access to running, potable water, which we will filter to meet Canada Drinking Water standards. It takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour to prepare the unit for a slaughter, after which time customers are expected to be available to transport live birds to our unit as needed for processing. Once the birds have been processed, bagged, and labelled, the customer is responsible for retrieving their product from us and storing it in a cold place (4° C) until it reaches their client. A scale will be provided should you wish to weigh your birds.

The cost for processing is:

$3.50 per chicken* $11.00 per turkey* plus $0.50 fuel surcharge per kilometre (one-way) from Kelowna *Plus GST