34. In the big shechita houses for chickens, there can be 10 or 12 shochtim working simultaneously, divided into groups of 3 or 5 shochtim. The shochtim in each group place the shechted chickens into cones on the conveyor belt from where the blood drips. In this way, all the shechted chickens from any given group are mixed together. At a later stage, all the chickens of all the groups are put together, suspended on the conveyor belt.
35. Work pace. The work pace of the shochtim varies between 8 to 12 chickens per minute per shochet. Since each chicken can weigh several kilograms, it takes physical strength and it is tiring. Thus, each shochet usually works in half hour shifts and rests in half hour breaks between shifts, at which point he fixes and sorts out his knives as necessary.
36. Hence, if a group of three shochtim checks knives every three minutes, about 90 chickens [30 per shochet] accumulate between inspections and are mixed up with each other.
37. A mixture with neveilos. If one of their knives is found to be nicked in the inspection after three minutes of work, every chicken shechted with that knife since the prior inspection – around 30 chickens – is a sofeik neveila (28), but they are mixed together with the kosher chickens from the other shochtim whose knives passed the inspection. What emerges is a mixture of 30 neveilos among about 60 kosher chickens.
38. Stopping the production line. In shechita houses, there is a button next to the knife checker which he uses to immediately stop the line if a knife is found to be nicked. This way, the rav in charge can calmly evaluate the mixture that was created without more chickens getting mixed in.
