Scrub washer

In a method of automatically defeathering cleaning birds wherein the birds are moved in suspended series along a conveyor line in a poultry processing system and as the birds move they are killed, scalded and defeathered, the improvement therein, comprising:

• prior to scalding and defeathering the birds, directing streams of fluid into contact with the birds,
• as the streams of fluid are directed into contact with the birds, impacting the birds with flexible elongated fingers with forces sufficient to spread the feathers of the birds and cause the birds to excrete matter from the digestive tracts of the birds, and moving the flexible fingers along the birds to clean debris, loose feathers and matter excreted from the digestive tracts of the birds from the birds to reduce contaminants within and on the birds prior to scalding and defeathering the birds.

A method of automatically cleaning whole killed birds of retained matter in the digestive tracts of the birds as the birds are moved suspended in an inverted attitude along a processing line toward a bird scalder, comprising:

• moving the birds through an initial scrub washing station positioned along the processing line;
• as the birds move through the initial scrub washing station, impacting the birds with a series of flexible fingers with enough force to cause retained matter in the digestive tracts of the birds to be expelled from the birds, and moving the flexible fingers along the birds to clean debris, loose feathers and matter excreted from the digestive tracts of the birds to reduce contaminants within and on the birds prior to scalding, defeathering and evisceration of the birds.