"Plucker" attachment for drill.....

[beebiz]

I've been told that they make attachments that you can use on your drill to pluck the feathers from your chickens. Have any of you heard of these or know where I can find one?? No more birds than I will process in a year, I can't quite justify the cost of the typical plucker. I just thought that if these things exist and aren't too expensive I might could justify the cost of one.

Thanks in advance for any help you can lend!

Robert

 

[FutureChickenMan]

I read somewhere about a guy who used tanned leather straps. I think the general idea is to make something like those fabric beaters in the car wash. You could probably make one fairly easily out of an old egg beater attachement and a chamois (tanned leather used for drying cars).

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Something like this? You can find them in outdoor catalogs for plucking game birds.

http://cgi.ebay.com/duck-plucker_W0QQitemZ270180303831QQcmdZViewItem

 

[FutureChickenMan]

Quote:
hey look at that, a micro-inverted-whizbang!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

15 or 20 years ago you could find all kind of those things in the sportmans' catalogs. Different ones with leather or plastic straps. When I did a google search that was the only model I could come up with.

A cylinder hone might also do the trick. The ones with abrasive balls on the end of twisted wire.

 

[beebiz]

Okay, thanks!

Robert

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Here's another one
www.cabelas.com then do a search for "Plucker"
It fits on a hand held drill. I've keep meaning to get myself one before the next round of butchering but keep forgetting.

 

[beebiz]

Thanks AK-Bird-brain! I had just found that one and was wondering about it. I looked at the 5 customer reviews and 4 of them were very pleased with the plucker. But, one of them claimed that it was a waste of money. It still has a rating of 3.6 stars out of a possible 5. If I don't buy the one on Ebay, I might just have to get one from Cabela's for myself for Christmas!!

Robert

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Here's an article on building your own. They just bought the fingers and mounted them in a PVC cap. If you're handy you could even mount a number of fingers inside a large diameter PVC pipe and spin it between two pillow blocks.

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/90/90-1/Ray_Kreuziger.html

 

[firechicken]

I think it would too easily bruise the chicken to use a cylinder hone.

Edited to add: But then again, I have never plucked a chicken before. (have used a hone though)