Arch.Geflügelk., 71 (1). S. 35–40, 2007, ISSN 0003-9098.
© Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart
Influence of electrical stunning voltages on bleed out and carcass
quality in slaughtered broiler chickens
Einfluss der Betäubungsspannungen beim Schlachten auf das Ausbluten und die Schlacht-
körperqualität von Broilern
Abdalla S.A. Ali1, Moira Anne Lawson2, Anne-Helene Tauson1, J. Fris Jensen1 and A. Chwalibog1
Manuskript eingegangen am 3. September 2004, angenommen am 18. Februar 2006
Introduction
The initial steps in processing poultry, specifically elec-
trical stunning, severing neck blood vessels and bleed-out
are important in the production of poultry meat for human
consumption. The presence of blood in broiler meat repre-
sents a major quality defect, and therefore, to optimize
meat product and carcass quality, adequate bleeding is
necessary. Carcass quality defects leading to downgrading
have been reported with electrical stunning when the ap-
plied current is either too low or too high (WABECK, 1988;
MURPHY et al., 1988; DICKENS and LYON, 1993). A major goal
of processing plants is to reduce meat and carcass defects
and optimize bleed-out of poultry at this stage, as im-
proved bleeding can improve the quality of the meat dur-
ing storage (SCOTT, 1978).
It is widely thought that electrical stunning is a cause of
many forms of downgrading. In particular, it is believed
that using high voltages in a water-bath stunner can lead to
poor bleeding. Inadequately bled birds can be condemned
because of excessive blood in all or some portion of the car-
cass (HARRIS and CARTER, 1976; GREGORY and WILKINS, 1989;
FLETCHER, 1993). In addition, proper bleeding will decrease
the quantity of blood diffusing from each carcass into the
scald water, increase the possibility for maximization col-
lection of blood for recycling purposes and thus decrease
the cost of treating plant wastewater to reduce its organic
load (KUENZEL and INGLING, 1977).
There are conflicting observations on the rate of bleed
out after low and high voltage stunning. KOTULA and HEL-
BACKA, (1966a) reported that electrical stunning resulted in
significantly more retained blood in the saleable parts of
the carcass as opposed to either physical stunning or
non-stunned birds. The authors also observed that electri-
cal stunning did not significantly affect total blood loss as
a percentage of live bird weight, but as a percentage of to-
tal blood volume. When different stunning techniques and
circuits were evaluated, KUENZEL and INGLING, (1977) found
that an AC circuit connected to a brine stunner at a voltage
1Dept. of Animals and Veterinary Basic Sciences and
2Dept. of Dairy and Food Science, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural Uni-
versity, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Arch.Geflügelk. 1/2007
setting of 50 volts was best for maximizing bleed-out of
electrically stunned male broilers. When stunning voltages
were increased, it has been reported that bleed out was
hindered (VEERKAMP and DE VRIES, 1983). This result has
been disputed, as GRIFFITHS, (1983), GRIFFITHS et al., (1985)
and DICKENS and LYON, (1993) reported that electrical stun-
ning had no effect on blood loss or carcass appearance of
broiler chickens.
The effect of a beating heart on the rate of bleed out is
not clear. Reports have shown similar levels of bleed out
independent of whether or not the heart was beating
(WARRIS, 1984). The author concluded that the heart can-
not pump blood out of the organs and muscles of the
body without displacing it with more blood. GREGORY and
WILKINS (1989a) reported that improper bleeding, or not
bleeding at all, seems to have a greater effect on carcass
quality parameters. In a later study, (1993) the authos
found that although the initial spurt of blood was less fol-
lowing cardiac arrest; the ultimate amount of blood lost
from the bird was not significantly decreased. Heart fail-
ure by electrical stunning is generally recommended
from the welfare point of view (HEATH, 1984; GREGORY
and WOTTON, 1986; MEWS, 1993; GYBELS, 1993; LAMBOOIJ,
1993).
Stunning and slaughtering techniques can have a major
effect on the incidence of a number of carcass defects,
such as haemorrhages in muscle tissue, red wingtips and
broken bones. It has been reported in numerous studies
that muscle tissue haemorrhages can be caused by
pre-slaughter electrical stunning (HILLEBRAND et al., 1996;
KRANEN et al., 1998), especially in the breast muscle the cut
of the bird with the highest economic value (LYON and
LYON, 1986, VEERKAMP, 1987) Susceptibility of muscle
haemorrhages caused by electrical stunning depends on
the individual impedance of the birds; genetic and envi-
ronmental factors such as cold weather conditions intensi-
fy this problem.
While muscle haemorrhages are a major problem in the
sale of broiler parts, red wingtips can lead to loss of salable
yield of whole carcasses if the wings requiring trimming
(GREGORY et al., 1989) and this defect have been reported
to be a result of high stunning voltages (VEERKAMP and DE
VRIES, 1983). The authors found that stunning at 200 V re-
sulted in significantly more red wingtips and tails than
broilers stunned at 75 V. There may well be numerous
causes of this defect as HEATH, (1984) blamed rupture of
blood vessels during the plucking process a cause of red
wingtips, while GREGORY et al., (1989) reported that the de-
fect is associated with incidence of wing flapping during
the shackling process at the slaughterhouse.
36 Ali et al.: Electrical stunning voltages in slaughtered broilers
The occurrence of broken bones in broiler carcasses has
been mainly attributed to processing as physical damage in
live birds is not a common problem (GREGORY and WILKINS,
1989). There are several causes associated with the inci-
dence of broken bones in broilers. Most studies have found
that the plucking process was the major contributor to bro-
ken bones (ANDREWS and GOODWIN, 1973; WABECK and LIT-
TLEFIELD, 1972), but high stunning voltages cannot be ruled
out as a cause (GREGORY and WILKINS, 1989).
The objectives of the following experiments were to de-
termine the effects of different electrical stunning voltages
on rate of bleed out and carcasses quality in slaughtered
broiler chickens.
Materials and Methods
Birds and management
Two experiments involving 420 birds were conducted to
determine the influence of electrical stunning on carcass
quality defects and blood retained by chicken carcasses.
The birds used in this study were 40-d-old (Ross 208)
broiler chickens, from the same flock, hatched and raised
commercially under similar environmental and nutritional
conditions and weighing about 2 kg. Feed was withdrawn
from broilers 8 to 9 hours prior to slaughter. All birds were
stunned in a water-bath stunner (Linco, Lindholst wa-
ter-bath stunner). In the first experiment (Exp 1), eleven
treatment groups were set up with twenty mixed-sex birds
each. In the second experiment (Exp 2), two hundred birds
were allocated to ten groups with twenty male birds each.
Due to the large variations in the impedance of individual
birds, stunning was carried individually at 0, 23, 33, 38,
43, 48, 53, 58, 63 and 103 volt alternating current in Exp
1 and 2. Stunning at 193 volt alternating current was used
only in Exp 1. The time between stunning and slaughter
was 12 s, the current (mA) for each stunning voltage was
not determined.
Processing
Stunning, slaughter and processing were carried out at a
commercial processing plant with a capacity of 5100 birds
per hour. The time between hanging and stunning was 35
s; stunning duration was 10 s (head to feet). Birds were
slaughtered manually by severing the jugular veins and ca-
rotid arteries on both sides of the neck, after which the
birds were bled for 135 s. The carcasses were then scalded
for 100 s at 60.5°C in a thermostatically controlled scald-
ing tank (Linco Scalder) equipped with a circulating pump
discharging the water at the top of the tank and over the
immersed birds. Plucking was done using a mechanical
plucker (Linco Tunnel Picker) for a period of 45 s. The
birds were eviscerated using an automatic viscera removal
apparatus (Stork auto. eviscerator). Chilling time was 35
minutes in a counter-current chiller (Linco Chiller). To
quantify the defects of red wingtips, breast blood spots and
broken bones of slaughter carcasses, the study adopted a
visual grading system in which the carcasses were individ-
ually examined and evaluated by a trained panel (ALI et al.,
1996).
Calculation of bleed out
To calculate the bleed out of the broiler the following
measurements were executed: The weight of each bird was
measured before stunning and the weight was measured
again 135 seconds after slaughter. The water up-take of the
broilers was measured with other birds at the same time
from the same flock. The calculation of bleed out was then
made using the following equation:
Y = X - Xt + Wt
In which Y = weight of bleed out t seconds after stunning
X = live weight
Xt = weight t seconds after stunning
Wt = amount water uptake t seconds after stunning.
The total blood volume of the individual broilers was
calculated using the formula of KOTULA and HELBACKA,
(1966 b):
Y = 2.251 * X2 - 11.1 * X + 20.49
In which Y = total amount of blood as percentage of live
weight
X = live weight in Kg.
The bleed out was expressed as a percentage of the total
blood volume to exclude influences of the differences in
average weight between the different samples.
Statistical analysis
The data was analyzed using the GLM procedure of the
Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 1990) using a model
where the fixed effects of experiment (Exp. 1 or Exp. 2)
and eleven stunning voltages (0, 23, 33, 38, 43, 48, 53, 58,
63, 103 and 193) on the dependent variables were tested.
Differences between treatments were considered signifi-
cant if P<0.05.
Results and discussion
Bleed out
Results are summarized in Table 1 and 2. At lower stun-
ning voltages, the rate of bleed out by broiler carcasses in-
creased as the stunning voltage increased, at voltages
greater than 58V, blood loss again decreased. The authors
have no explanation for this phenomenon. The bleeding
rate was variable between the birds in the same group,
which may be due to the individual impedance of the
chickens, which varies greatly from bird to bird. WOLLEY et
al., (1986b) have shown that ranges of impedance in oth-
erwise similar birds were between 1000 and 1500 ohms.
This variation will be increased by differences in conduc-
tivity between shackle and legs (KUENZEL et al., 1978; WOL-
LEY et al., 1986b). As Shown in Table 1 and 2, low stunning
voltages (0 to 23 V AC) caused the chickens to leave the
stunner squeaking loudly flapping their wings in a vain ef-
fort to flee and resulted in poor bleed-out (40%), high in-
cidence of broken bones (20%) and red wingtips (10%).
Due to these defects carcasses were classified as B grade
(Table 3). Moderate stunning voltages (53 - 63 V) in-
creased bleed out by carcasses to over 50% and resulted in
fewer incidences of broken bones (8%). Therefore, a high
proportion was classified as A grade. High stunning voltag-
es (193 V) resulted in negative effects such as red wingtips
(24%), broken bones (19%) and blood spots (79%). Car-
casses in this group were graded class B due to the high in-
cidences of breast blood spots.
Data in Table 1, 2 and 3 show clearly that stunning at 53
- 63 V to be more effective in bleed-out and resulted in few-
er incidences of breast blood spots, broken bones and red
wingtips compared to higher (100 - 193 V AC) or/and low-
er (0 - 23 V AC) applied voltages. These results are in close
Arch.Geflügelk. 1/2007
 Ali et al.: Electrical stunning voltages in slaughtered broilers 37
Table 1. Exp. 1. Effect of different electrical stunning voltages on bleed out in mixed-sex broilers
Versuch 1: Einfluss unterschiedlicher elektrischer Betäubungsspannungen auf den Ausblutungsgrad von gemischt-geschlechtlichen
Broilern

Volt N LW g BL g TBV % BL / LW % BL %

0 20 2120 60.4 7.10 2.84 40.0c

23 20 2214 62.0 6.97 2.80 40.2c
33 20 2148 70.3 7.07 3.29 46.4b
38 20 2169 73.2 7.08 3.39 47.8b
43 20 2148 72.7 7.08 3.39 47.9b
48 20 2238 73.9 6.97 3.31 47.5b
53 20 2170 78.8 7.04 3.64 51.7a
58 20 2172 77.3 7.02 3.55 50.7ab
63 20 2050 71.2 7.22 3.48 48.2b
103 20 2124 73.3 7.09 3.45 48.7b
193 20 2067 71.5 7.18 3.46 48.2b
RMSE 113.2 8.14 0.167 0.381 5.23
p-value (volt) 0.001
p-value (experiment) ns

a-c Means within column with no common superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05)
Abbreviations: LW = live weight; BL = bleed out; TBV = Total blood volume: RMSE = Root Mean Square Error; ns = not significant

Table 2. Exp. 2. Effect of different electrical stunning voltages on bleed out in male broilers
Versuch 2: Einfluss unterschiedlicher elektrischer Betäubungsspannungen auf den Ausblutungsgrad von männlichen Broilern
Volt N LW g BL g TBV % BL / LW % BL %

0 20 2081 60.3 7.15 2.90 40.5c

23 20 2208 63.8 6.97 2.88 41.4c
33 20 2174 71.6 7.01 3.29 47.0b
38 20 2136 71.8 7.06 3.37 47.7b
43 20 2240 74.0 6.93 3.31 47.7b
48 20 2106 70.3 7.12 3.35 47.0b
53 20 2236 79.1 6.93 3.53 51.0a
58 20 2171 76.8 7.01 3.54 50.5ab
63 20 2165 72.1 7.06 3.34 47.3b
103 20 2152 74.3 7.09 3.45 48.7b
RMSE 115.3 8.07 0.172 0.378 51.7
p-value (volt) 0.001
p-value (experiment) Ns

a-c Means within a column with no common superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05)
Abbreviations: LW = live weight; BL = bleed out; TBV = Total blood volume; RMSE = Root Mean Square Error; ns = not significant

agreement with those of KUENZEL and INGLING, (1977); Stunning effects

VEERKAMP and DE VRIES (1983); WABECK, (1988) and DICK-
ENS and LYON, (1993) who found that 50 V AC was superior
for maximizing bleed-out in processed chickens as com-
pared to 100 - 200 V AC stun. However, these results were
inconsistent with GRIFFITHS, (1983) who observed no dif-
ference between the amount of bleed out from broilers
stunned at 55, 80, 105, or 200 volts and with DICKENS and
LYON (1993) who reported that stunning with either 50 or
200 V AC had no effect on bleed out of broilers. Obviously,
the results in Table 1, 2 and 3 shows that sex differences
(mixed / male) between the groups had no impact either
on the rate of blood loss and/or carcasses defects due to
the applied electrical stunning.
The researchers’ recommendation of a minimum stunning
current of 120 mA that results in heart failure or immedi-
ate death (HEATH, 1984; GREGORY and WOTTON, 1986;
MEWS, 1993; GYBELS, 1993 and LAMBOOIJ, 1993) was based
solely on achieving optimum welfare and not on avoiding
meat and carcass defects (VAN HOOF 1992). However, it is
well documented that stunning at high current is one of the
major factors that causes downgrading in meat and car-
casses quality (VEERKAMP, 1987; GREGORY and WILKINS,
1989; ALI et al., 1996). The use of high current lengthens
the bleeding time (GREGORY and WILKINS, 1993), hinders
plucking efficiency (GREGORY 1989) and delays rigor devel-

Arch.Geflügelk. 1/2007
38 Ali et al.: Electrical stunning voltages in slaughtered broilers
Table 3. Effect of different selected stunning voltages on carcasses defects in mixed-sex (Exp. 1) and male broilers (Exp. 2)
Einfluss verschiedener, ausgewählter Betäubungsspannungen auf die Häufigkeit von Schlachtkörperdefekten bei gemischt-ge-
schlechtlichen (Versuch 1) und männlichen (Versuch 2) Broilern

Red wingtips % blood spots % Shoulder hæmorr. % broken bones % Quality grades
Mixed Male Mixed Male Mixed Male Mixed Male Mixed Male
Volt n

0 20 9 8 38 41 10 9 23 21 B B
23 20 10 10 31 32 9 8 19 19 B B
53 20 11 10 32 33 7 6 7 6 A A
58 20 12 11 37 36 6 6 6 6 A A
63 20 11 12 45 48 8 7 6 5 A A
103 20 26 24 62 61 11 10 13 11 B B
193 20 27 - 79 - 12 - 19 - BC -

opment (PAPINAHO and FLETCHER, 1995; CRAIG and FLETCHER, Perspectives

1997) in the carcass. This study suggests an alternative
slaughter method which combines a low stunning current
should be investigated in order to eliminate the conflict be-
tween animal welfare and quality of products. In addition,
it is essential that both carotid arteries and jugular veins
are cut as soon as possible after stunning in order to aid
rapid bleed-out and hence rapid death. The instrument
used to perform slaughtering must be extremely sharp to
facilitate the quick cutting of the blood vessels. The ensur-
ing rapid drainage of blood causes anoxia and often pre-
vents the bird from regaining consciousness during the
subsequent 80 – 90 s (BILGILI, 1999). BLACKMORE and DELA-
NY, (1988) reported that in order to ensure that a slaughter
process is humane, it is important to know the time taken
for an animal to become insensible from the slaughtering
procedure alone. FLETCHER, (1999) reported that stunning,
neck cutting and bleeding should be considered a continu-
ous slaughter process and not as distinct steps.
It was concluded that the applied electrical voltage for
stunning significantly affects the rate of bleed out in broi-
lers. The number of carcass defects increased with increas-
ing of the electrical stunning voltages. With increased at-
tention to the humane treatment of food animals during
slaughter, the 50 - 63 V AC stun could prove to be more hu-
mane if it is combined with an effective method of slaughter
that achieves rapid bleeding. Stunning at 53 V AC for 10 s
maximized bleed out to over 50%. Low electrical stunning
voltages (0 - 23 V AC) resulted in poor bleed-out (40%) and
downgrading carcasses that were classified as B grade.
High stunning voltages (103-193 V AC) are sufficient to sat-
isfy birds’ welfare issues but resulted in other side effects
such as physical damage, breast blood spots, red wingtips
and broken bones. High stun carcasses were classed as B
grade. Moderate stunning (53 to 63 V AC) seems to be more
effective in bleed-out (50%) and resulted in better carcass
quality, which were graded as A. Finally, this study confirms
that a beating heart is not necessary in order to ensure
effective bleed-out. In addition, it is difficult to think of any
scientific, religious, economic and humanitarian grounds
for removing the last possible drop of blood. Since stunning
at high currents is a major cause of carcass downgrading,
the stun-to-death method neither achieved the goal to sat-
isfy processors nor fulfilled consumers’ demands. We fully
agree with VAN DE NIEUWLAAR (1993) that the method of
stun-to-death will result in a frustrating cat and mouse
game between the inspection authorities and poultry
processing industry. Moreover, the question of what consti-
tutes cruelty has remained unanswered
– All technical means should be used to avoid high volt-
age electrical stunning
– The level of consciousness of the birds and the quality of
the product are the most important aspects that deter-
mine the voltage adjustment.
– Alternative slaughter methods in combination with a
low electrical stunning should be investigated in order
to hopefully eliminate the conflict between animal wel-
fare and meat quality
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Rose Poultry Processing Plant
for providing facilities and birds and the Danish Institute of
Agricultural Sciences, Foulum, Dept. of Product Quality,
for the technical assistance.
Summary
Two experiments involving 420 birds were conducted to de-
termine the influence of electrical stunning on meat quality
and blood retained by chicken carcasses. The birds used in
this study were 40-d-old (Ross 208) broiler chickens, from
the same flock, hatched and raised commercially under sim-
ilar environmental and nutritional conditions and weighing
about 2 kg. In the first experiment, eleven treatment groups
were set up with twenty mixed-sex birds each. In the second
experiment, two hundred birds were allocated to ten groups
with twenty male birds each. Birds in both experiments were
individually stunned at 0, 23, 33, 38, 43, 48, 53, 58, 63, 103
and 193 Volt (only exp 1). The total blood volumes of the
individual broilers were calculated. It was concluded that
the applied electrical voltage for stunning significantly af-
fects the rate of bleed out in broilers. Carcass defects were
increased with the increasing of the electrical stunning volt-
ages. With increased attention to the humane treatment of
food animals during slaughter, the 50 - 63 V AC stun could
prove to be more humane if it is combined with an effective
method of slaughter that achieved a rapid bleeding. Stun-
ning at 53 V AC for 10 s maximized bleed out to over 50%.
Low electrical stunning voltages (0 to 23 V AC) resulted in
poor bleeding (40%) and high incidence of carcasses defects
that classified as B. High stunning voltages (103 to 193 V
AC) sufficient to satisfy birds welfare issues but resulted in
other side effects such as physical damage, breast blood

Arch.Geflügelk. 1/2007
 Ali et al.: Electrical stunning voltages in slaughtered broilers
spots, red wingtips and broken bones. High stun carcasses
were classed as B. Moderate stunning (53 to 63 V AC) seems
to be more effective in bleed-out (50%) and resulted in bet-
ter carcass quality which obtained grade A. Finally, this
study confirms that a beating heart is not necessary in order
to ensure effective bleed-out. In addition, it is difficult to
think of any scientific, religious, economic and humanitari-
an grounds for removing the last possible drop of blood.
Key words
Electrical stunning, voltages, blood loss, carcasses quality,
broilers
Zusammenfassung
In zwei Versuchsdurchgängen mit 420 Broilern wurde der
Einfluss unterschiedlicher Betäubungsspannungen auf den
Ausblutungsgrad und die Qualität der Schlachtkörper unter-
sucht. Für die Untersuchungen wurden 40 Tage alte Broiler
der Herkunft Ross 208 mit einem Gewicht von 2 kg verwen-
det, die aus derselben Elterntierherde stammten und nach
dem Schlupf unter Praxisbedingungen (gleiche Umwelt- und
Fütterungsbedingungen) aufgezogen wurden. Das erste Ex-
periment umfasste 11 Behandlungen mit jeweils 20 nicht
nach Geschlecht sortierten Broilern. Im zweiten Versuch wur-
den 200 männliche Broiler auf 10 Behandlungsgruppen mit
je 20 Tieren verteilt. In beiden Versuchen wurden die Broiler
individuell mit 0, 23, 33, 38, 43, 48, 53, 63, 103 und 193 (nur
Versuch 1) Volt betäubt. Die Gesamtblutmengen der Tiere
wurden berechnet und der Ausblutungsgrad bestimmt.
Die Ergebnisse belegen, dass die Betäubungsspannung
den Ausblutungsgrad signifikant beeinflusst. Bei höheren
Betäubungsspannungen traten vermehrt Schlachtkörper-
defekte auf. Im Hinblick auf die Forderung nach einem
möglichst humanen Töten der Tiere sind Spannungen zwi-
schen 50 und 63 Volt AC am besten zu bewerten, wenn si-
cher gestellt wird, dass der Ausblutungsschnitt schnell und
präzise erfolgt. Eine Betäubung bei 53 Volt AC für 10 s er-
höhte den Ausblutungsgrad auf über 50%. Geringere Be-
täubungsspannungen (0 – 23 V AC) reduzierten den Aus-
blutungsgrad (40%) und bewirkten vermehrte Schlacht-
körperdefekte (Klasse B). Hohe Betäubungsspannungen
(103 – 193 V AC) erwiesen sich zwar im Hinblick auf den
Tierschutz als geeignet, führten aber zu Beschädigungen
der Schlachtkörper wie Blutungen an der Brust, rote Flü-
gelspitzen und gebrochene Knochen (Klasse B). Moderate
Betäubungsspannungen (53 – 63 V AC) erzielten den güns-
tigsten Ausblutungsgrad (50%) und die beste Schlachtkör-
perqualität (Klasse A). In der Untersuchung zeigte sich
auch, dass es für eine optimale Ausblutung nicht erforder-
lich ist, dass das Herz noch schlägt. Weder aus wissen-
schaftlichen, religiösen, ökonomischen noch aus humani-
tären Gründen ist es erforderlich, den letzten Tropfen Blut
aus dem Schlachtkörper zu holen.
Stichworte
Broiler, Elektrische Betäubung, Spannung, Ausbluten,
Schlachtkörperqualität
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Correspondence: Abdalla S.A. Ali, PhD, Department of Animal and Veterinary
Basic Sciences, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Groenne-
gaardsvej 3, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark; e-mail: all@kvl.dk
Arch.Geflügelk. 1/2007