Method for shackling live poultry

The method of handling live poultry at the farm, in transport and preparatory to and in processing comprising the steps of:

• (a) collecting the poultry at the farm and transporting the collected poultry loose and on foot in transport confining means to the processing plant;
• and
• (b) at the processing plant:
• (i) directing the live fowl on foot towards an elongated shackle structure releasably fixed at a shackling station across the path along which the fowl are directed and having releasably laterally spaced limb securing means oriented to receive the limbs of the fowl from the direction in which they are directed and operative to releasably secure laterally-spaced paired limb portions of the fowl on foot in a side-by-side array;
• (ii) loading the shackle structure with a plurality of the fowl on foot and releasably secured in such side-by-side array by moving the fowl into and relative to the structure;
• (iii) removing the loaded shackle structure from said shackling station and transporting such loaded structure to a processing conveyor at a processing plant;
• and
• (iv) releasably mounting the loaded shackle structure on the conveyor and processing the fowl thereon while said conveyor moves the structure during processing.