Device for cutting open slaughtered poultry

A device for cutting open the bottom of a slaughtered bird (V) suspended with the legs from a hook (23) of a conveyor (7), comprising a processing member (33) to be inserted into the bird and provided with a cutting edge (36), said cutting edge being movable along a portion of a circular arc and cooperating with a follower (19) which in its turn cooperates with a fixedly disposed curved path (21), which processing member (33) is mounted on a slide (16), which is movable up and down in the direction of the bird (V) along a slide guide (14) moving along with the conveyor (7) and which cooperates with a fixedly disposed curved path (20) for the control of the movement of the slide (16), which is provided with a bottom clip (25, 25') which can engage the bottom between the legs of the birds (V), characterized in that at least a portion (36a) of the cutting edge (36) of the processing member (33) from the foremost, outermost point (39) thereof is substantially vertical at the beginning of the operative stroke and is substantially horizontal at the end of the operative stroke, and that at least the said portion (36) of the processing member (33) in the operative direction of movement (B) of the processing member (33) is trailing with respect to the foremost, outermost point (39) of the cutting edge (36) in this direction.