Treatment of poultry

Apparatus for gas stunning of poultry, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of containers each in the form of an open-topped rectangular drawer which is moulded from a synthetic plastics material with apertures to allow the passage of stunning gas into the containers,
• a chamber accommodating a heavier than air gas or gases effective to stun the poultry,
• an infeed conveyor for delivering a series of said containers, each containing poultry, to an inlet end of the chamber,
• a covering panel spaced above the infeed conveyor by a distance which allows the passage of the containers on the infeed conveyor and which covers the tops of the containers in a manner to prevent the poultry in the containers escaping therefrom,
• lowering means for accepting the containers delivered by the infeed conveyor and for lowering the containers into the chamber, the lowering means including a cover which is positioned so as to cover the open tops of the containers while on the lowering means and thereby prevent poultry escaping from the containers while on the lowering means,
• conveyor means within the chamber for accepting the containers from the lowering means and for transporting the containers through the chamber,
• covering means above the conveying means, the covering means being spaced above the conveying means by a distance which allows the passage of the containers on the conveyor means and which covers the tops of the containers to prevent the poultry in the containers escaping therefrom, the covering means being of apertured construction to permit the passage of gas therethrough, so that the gas enters the containers and air leaves the containers through the apertures in the containers and through the covering means,
• lifting means for receiving the containers at an outfeed end of the conveyor means and lifting the containers out of the chamber,
• and an outfeed conveyor for accepting containers with stunned poultry and for transporting the containers with stunned poultry away from the chamber.