Commercial hand-held blender (Braun MR300 or MR400).
4 litre measuring pitcher.
Large household funnel (25 cm diameter or larger).
Vetech's gel slicer.
Stapler (eg: for office use).
Heating container to maintain a supply of water at 80ºC, or slightly over (eg: a 15 litre coffee urn works well).
Large containers to be used as a cold water bath to hold gel "sausages" (eg: a 77 litre Rubbermaid garbage can will hold 10 sausages or 25,000 doses).
10 X 4" PVC pipes (with holes), cut to 17" in height for each container in Item 7 above, to hold the sausages.
Once this equipment is in place, you can proceed with Poultry Puck® gel production (Figure-1). Vetech can supply items 1 to 4 at cost on request.
STEP 2. SET-UP (Figure 2) In setting up for Poultry Puck® gel production, there are a few easy steps to follow. Completion of these steps will assure that gel production runs smoothly, and takes less than 3 minutes to complete steps 2 and 3.
Check the temperature of the hot water source to assure it is operating at the recommended temperature.
Label the required number of casings with the "Date of Production" using a water-resistant marker (Figure-2).
Open the appropriate number of Poultry Puck® kits for the production.
Position the blender, measuring container, funnel and stapler ready for use.
STEP 3. PREPARATION (Figures 3 to 10)
Add 2.5 litres of hot water to the pitcher. CAUTION: HOT WATER (Figure-3).
Pour the contents of one pouch of Poultry Puck® powder into the pitcher.
Insert the hand blender into the water/powder mixture. The blender head should be below the surface to minimize splashing.
Run the blender in short bursts, keeping the mixing head submerged. Use a stirring motion until the mixture appears homogeneous (approx. 1 minute) (Figure-4).
Remove the blender from the pitcher.
Slide the open end of a gel casing over the neck of the funnel (Figure-5).
Pour contents of pitcher through the funnel into the gel casing (Figure-6).
Rest the bottom of the gel casing on a firm surface, such as the bottom of a sink. Remove the funnel and neatly close the top of the gel casing. CAUTION: handle the full gel casing by this free upper section only. The contents are very hot.
The casing may be rolled several times and stapled closed (Figure-7).
Place the completed gel casing into the cooling bath (Figure-8). Fill the cooling bath with ice, if available. The water level should be at the height of the PVC pipes (Figure-9). Allow casing to stand for 45 minutes, or until the gel is firm.
Refrigerate the completed gel casings until ready to use (Figure-10).
NOTE: Poultry Puck® in the casing allows the convenience of handling and storage without losing commercial sterility, as well as preparation before use as far ahead as 2 weeks.
STEP 4. SLICING (Figures 11,12,15) Poultry Puck® gel can now be sliced and packaged.
Label shipping containers with customer name and shipping date.
Using the gel slicer, cut gel into 25 pucks (Figure-11, Figure-12). Each puck should be of equal size. One puck will provide for 100 birds.
Place pucks in a plastic bag and seal.
Store in refrigerator until ready for use (Figure-15).
STEP 5. CLEAN-UP
Production equipment should be washed thoroughly with hot water or set the temperature of the dishwasher to "high".
Wash and disinfect all working surfaces to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination.
Vetech Laboratories Inc. 131 Malcolm Road Guelph, Ontario N1K 1A8