If you have poultry to process, here are your options:
Contact a Custom Processor. Processing for others involves obtaining a Custom Processing license from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. If anyone tells you they can process chickens for you, ask if they have a Custom Processor license. If they don’t, it’s an illegal activity. We know of only 3 Custom Processors in the Dayton, Ohio area. Here is a summary:
- Johnson Poultry Farm, https://johnsonpoultryfarm.wixsite.com/johnsonfarms, Wilmington, Ohio (Clinton County). Johnson’s processes Cornish Cross chickens, other chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks. Poultry is processed, but not cut up or packaged. It is up to you to chill and package poultry. Cornish Cross is $4.75/bird, other chickens are $4.95/bird. $25 minimum fee. Offal not included. Johnson’s is a seasonal processor.
- King and Sons Poultry, https://www.kingandsonspoultry.com/, Bradford, Ohio (Darke County). Cornish Cross ONLY. Minimum 100 birds. $100 fee for less than 250 birds. Slaughter: $1.30 + $.24/lb. Offal not included. Packaging: $1.20/pkg. Because of the minimums, this is not a viable option for most backyard growers.
- Caven’s Meats, Inc., https://cavens-meats-inc.edan.io/, Fletcher, Ohio (Miami Couty). Caven’s does not publish any processing pricing online. However, a Facebook post from 7 April 2026 states that processing is $8/bird packaged or $6/bird unpackaged. They must have orders totaling 100 birds or more to schedule a processing date. A $20 fee is added for an individual bringing less than 20 birds. Roosters are $10/bird. Caven’s is a seasonal processor. We have no experience with Caven’s, good or bad.
Process Your Own Chickens with Your Own Equipment. Per P.L. 90-492, the 1957 Wholesome Poultry Products Act, you are allowed to process your own chickens without any permission or oversight. While processing can seem intimidating if you have never done it, the most difficult part is dispatching the chicken. There are many YouTube videos showing how to process a chicken, including one that we made called How to Process a Chicken with Minimal Equipment.
Process Your Own Chickens with Our Equipment. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has given us written permission to rent our processing equipment at our farm. You can rent our plucker and take it to your location ($50/24 hours), or rent our processing barn which includes kill cones, scalder, plucker, processing table with hot/cold water, cooling tubs, and packaging fixture ($75/day). We are allowed to advise you during processing, but cannot assist. Heat shrink bags from Florida Poultry Shrink Bags are available for $1 each. For more information about processing equipment rental, click HERE.
Donations. If you just need to get rid of poultry, like old hens or unwanted roosters, you can donate them to us. There is no charge or payment for donations. Donations help our educational mission. You can request to drop off poultry HERE.