EZ Plucker 131 works GREAT!

[backintime]

I have no horse in this race, but what if you had people bring the birds to you for processing? Or let them use the unit while you run it? Is that possible? I don't really have a clue how the machines work, other than not losing a human finger... But if there is a concern about renting it out, could you rent it out on your property? Just a thought... Feel free to tell me I am an idiot.

Gosh no, you're not an idiot. I am afraid to rent the unit and get it back broken, or worse, have somebody get hurt using it. I'm totally with you in your suggestion to accompany the unit and operate it for those "renting" it. Wonder what such a service should cost. I'm stumped.

 

[Just reebok]

Then what I would do is put an ad on Craigslist and post "chicken pluckin" services. " you kill 'em, we de-frill 'em" or something. You could do one saturday a month to start and maybe base it on a per chicken charge, within a reasonable distance. Or.. Do a chicken pluckin day at your place "bring ''em dead, we'll pluck their head". Now I am just being silly... It is late. Little loopy.

 

[PotterWatch]

We have lost a couple fingers but only very recently and they were easy to replace.

Oh! Hahahaha.. My heart dropped when I first read you had lost a couple of fingers! I thought OMG how can you lose a finger and be so nonchalant?? Then I realized what you were talking about and promptly felt like a huge chicken newbie. Hahahah[/QUOTE]

Ha! I didn't even think of it that way!

 

[PotterWatch]

Then what I would do is put an ad on Craigslist and post "chicken pluckin" services. " you kill 'em, we de-frill 'em" or something. You could do one saturday a month to start and maybe base it on a per chicken charge, within a reasonable distance. Or.. Do a chicken pluckin day at your place "bring ''em dead, we'll pluck their head". Now I am just being silly... It is late. Little loopy.

I'm cracking up at your tag lines.

We don't rent ours out. One, we do 50-80 birds every week so we don't have to wonder if it is worth the money. Two, we can't process any birds other than birds we have raised on our property due to USDA regulations. However, I wouldn't have an issue renting it out if it weren't for those things. I would require a hefty deposit that I would only return when I verified that the unit is damage-free and works perfectly.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I won't rent mine out because I am neurotic about disease. I don't want strange birds on my property and I don't want chicken blood or germs from outside coming onto my property.

I do think that in many areas, you could easily get the cost of the plucker back by renting it out for the weekend. Require an enormous deposit for both condition and cleaning. Better have some liability insurance, too, in case someone gets hurt.

 

[Yukonchick]

i used to work for Lilydale turkey processing plant and when we got them they were just plucked and thats it. We did the rest and between 25 to 30 people we did 8 to 10,000 turkeys a day. and that is moving. Eight months was enough for me. I feel so sorry for the creatures in a Commercial plant or farm or factory what ever you want to call it. Its cruel. Man if reincarnation is a fact, I hope I don`t come back as a turkey. LOL

 

[backintime]

Good points to ponder. I hadn't thought of the disease factor. My husband already thought about liability . . . nothing is ever simple!

 

[backintime]

i used to work for Lilydale turkey processing plant and when we got them they were just plucked and thats it. We did the rest and between 25 to 30 people we did 8 to 10,000 turkeys a day. and that is moving. Eight months was enough for me. I feel so sorry for the creatures in a Commercial plant or farm or factory what ever you want to call it. Its cruel. Man if reincarnation is a fact, I hope I don`t come back as a turkey. LOL

WOW! That's incredible. I wish more people could see what happens in a broiler factory or processing plant. Bet there'd be a lot more folks raising their own broilers in the back yard.

 

[Kaitie09]

We rented a plucker last fall. The plucker itself was only 50 for the weekend but we had to put down a $150 refundable deposit in case of damages. It was a homemade barrel plucker but it worked great for us. I think in regard to disease, after you get it back you should do a good cleaning on it. The guy we rented from says that he had made his money back just by renting it a few weekends a year.

 

[Yukonchick]

Ya for sure people should see a commercial processing plant and how it works. I worked at a turkey processing plant but about 4 times a month we got loads of used up laying hens and they looked so horrible that nobody would want to eat them if they saw them, but when all the skin is off and the the breast meat is packaged up and the rest is used for who knows. I didn't work in packaging. I worked in the bloody area, gutting and cleaning. Then they sell the breast meat for top dollar. If people only knew. those nice little packages of skinless chicken breast you buy.....

Those poor laying hens are all bruised and beat up when they get to the plant. Totally look exhausted from all the eggs they've laid in their short lives.