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Missed seeing hand. Those get put in the pot for stock at our place. I'm sure the dog would love them, but he's not going to get them.

Quote: Our dog loves the heads, along with the feet. He will hide the feet, and collect them as needed. It is fun to watch him haul them off as we are butchering, trying to find a different place to hide each one. The backs and necks get cooked down for stock and loose meat. That meat makes...

Scalding temperature is critical. Get a thermometer in the water to find out what the temp is. We use a turkey fryer thermometer. Not most accurate, but one the temp is about right it does guide the temp control. Once you get the scald done proper, where the feathers come out without much...

The birds you raise will taste different. We grow them because of taste and size. We got tired of those small chickens, and the flavor. It is not because you can raise them cheaper, and certainly not because it is easier. The biggest reason was because of processing control. We know how...

Mom used a broomstick and pulled the head off. I use a cone and knife. No need to make it more complicated than necessary. If you have not used a cone, it helps contain the chicken, and allows you to be more precise with the knife. well worth making or buying.

The fast food chains also put a pink slime in their burgers that is known to cause cancer. I have read about the pink slime in hamburger and how gross it might seem, but have not seen anything that shows positive link to cancer. Where might that be found?

Ha, missed the age of the thread, but thanks for the info Buster, I have the elements, may have to rig one up and see how it works.

For hand plucking, probably not. I would be looking for a turkey fryer to heat your water with. Around here fryers can be purchased at a garage sale or auction cheap, or borrowed from a friend. If they don't want their pot used for chicken scalding, get the burner, and find some other water...

Is it do-able? yes. What is your reason for raising your own chickens? If you want control of the process, then go right after it, that is why we raise chickens. If it is to try to raise your own meat cheap, then ordering small batches of chicks sets you back right at the start, and be...

If we have one or two that need butchered, then it is not worth the time to get out the plucking equipment, I have skinned them. But even though my wife doesn't like to eat the skin, she does like to roast them whole with the skin on. I like the skin, so we pluck them. We will freeze some...

The whizbang works great, but will break a leg and wing occasionally. It is usually because the leg/wing gets caught between the fingers of the barrel and featherplate and don't get it shut off fast enough. The tub is designed to handle 2-3 birds at a time, but we just pluck one at a time just...

You may already be started, I would move to plan b. If there is food in the crop, just be careful with it, clean up if one bursts. Don't worry about the bedding. There is usually wood chips in the gizzards when we clean them.

Forgot to mention, keep us posted on the scalder. Let us know how you are getting along, post pics of the build.

Get the whiz bang books. They are instructional guides to building both the plucker and the scalder. I have yet to build the scalder. Even if you don't build them exactly as described, the author walks you through some of the important items, like rpm of the feather plate and finger spacings...

My wife seems obsessed with getting all the feathers, so we pluck and get what we think are all the feathers, and most pin feathers, gut, and put in cooler with ice water. Then take them to house to break down and package. Prior to packaging, my wife checks them over again, and gets the pin...

That should be about right. However, you may need to increase it a bit to get the feathers to come out easily, or leave them in the water a bit longer. Wing and tail feathers seem to be the hardest to pull, and so I use them as a guide. A firm but quick tug on the wing feathers should remove...

I don't think tearing would be a problem when manually plucking, at least we didn't, with a proper scald. Proper scald makes all the difference in the world.

I don't see a hose end sprayer that will shut off water listed. We use one with adjustable spray patterns. In fact, we have a 4 way manifold, and 4 short hoses and hose end spayers so that each person working has access to their own water. Looks like otherwise a pretty complete list for the...

Can't add a whole lot to what was said, but would suggest you calculate when you think they will be ready to process, and then think about what the temperature usually is at that time. Late August/early September works for us. We would want to be done butchering by Halloween, as it can get...

Just a thought, maybe you could find someone to help you with processing in trade for some of the chicken. We have done that in the past. Even if they are unwilling to get involved in plucking/evisceration, they could help with breaking down the bird and help package. Ideally someone who...