EZ Plucker

[Oregon Blues]

Well, that was a big disappointment.

We did 12 ducks and the plucker broke all the legs, disjointed a lot of hips, broke backs, and on 2 ducks also broke the ribs.

The birds look like we ran over them with a truck to process them.

We stopped processing, still 17 birds to be done. Have to figure out what we are doing wrong with the plucker.

The plucker does get the feathers off.

 

[RoosterGeek]

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Aside from the physical abuse of the carcass, did you scald at 160*F? I've read that is what the ideal temperature is for plucking a duck.

I wonder what speed the featherplate is spinning at. That's crazy to think it did that much damage and lends to the idea of it spinning too fast. I'm definitely going to make mine as I have heard enough concerning quality about EZ Pluckers to make a decision.

The other day I almost got a barely used Featherman Gamebird unit for 700 bucks but got outbid by 12 measly dollars!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

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How long were they in the plucker? We've done 120 hens in the past few days and I only saw two broken legs. Those were due to my sons running the plucker longer than 15-20 seconds trying to strip the feathers from poorly scalded birds. The longer they have to be in there the more beat up they get.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

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Aside from using different plucker fingers and an American made motor I don't know how you are going to make the basic machine any different. They even sell models without a motor so you can mount a motor of your choice...

 

[Oregon Blues]

We used a thermometer to make sure the water was 160 degrees and I used a spoon to stroke the feathers up to get the water down to the skin.

Birds were into and out of the plucker quick. Feathers came off fine. It even got some of the pin feathers. It just beat the tar out of them. I can't imagine any reason that the meat isn't bruised all to heck with so many broken bones.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

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Maybe it's not the best thing for ducks, or it needs softer fingers...

It doesn't bruise the meat, it can't bruise it if there isn't any blood or blood pressure. My wife takes chicken breasts and pounds them thin with a tenderizing hammer to make stuffed breasts. It doesn't affect the meat much except for tenderizing it a bit and making it thinner.

How many birds were you doing at one time? We were doing four 2.5 lb hens at a time and it worked well. I tried five at one time and it slowed the machine considerably. I noticed if I threw a single bird in there it really got to whipping around.

 

[PotterWatch]

We don't pluck less than three at a time if we can help it (we have the 151). Having too few birds in the plucker does allow them to get tossed around too much. Out of 50 birds, we usually have 4 or five with a broken leg or wing but even that I think will improve with more practice using the equipment.

We went with ab ez plucker rather than a whizbang for a couple reasons. We like that the whole plucker is stainless steel rather than porus plastic like it would be if we built our own. We didn't have the extra time to get all the parts together and then build the thing. The ez plucker also came with a one year warranty.

 

[Oregon Blues]

OK. Next time in the plucker, less time in the plucker, more birds.

We put them in 2 at a time, will do 3 next time.

Also going to not wait for them to completely drain. Kill and into the plucker before any rigor.

My son isn't worried about it. He just says it takes some learning before you can use any new equipment well.

I'm determined to get it mastered. I've got 6 Christmas geese to be processed this fall and they must come out perfect because some of them are earmarked as gifts. Not to mention, I want my own Christmas dinner to look perfect.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

It really doesn't take long if they are scalded properly. In 10 seconds most of the feathers were gone on ours. 20 seconds was actually a long run. I should have said we were doing four, 4 lb birds at one time. 2.5 lbs was the dressed weight.

 

[Buster52]

Okay, I'm getting ready to order one of these. How is everyone doing with your ezplucker now? Did those of your with problems get them worked out?

I'm considering ordering the 151 because it is in my price range. Do you think it is enough better than the 131 to be worth the difference?