Apparatus for separating meat from poultry bones

Apparatus for removing meat from the drumsticks of poultry, such as turkeys and chickens, utilises aligned, tandem cylinders (7, 14), the first (4) of which urges the second (7) along a guided path, the second carrying a centering cone pusher (20) thereon for receiving the meat end of the drumstick. Transversely moving gates (37, 38) engage the drumstick about the hock knuckle end and the centering cone pushes the hock knuckle end through and past the closed gates. The meat is formed into a gathered mass, the gates are withdraw, and the second cylinder is activated, causing a rod (14) to project axially through the meat mass and against the meat end of the bone, urging the bone through a guide passageway (31) and expelling it from the apparatus.