101 Ways to Kill

[Tre3hugger]

I use a cone and a replaceable blade scalpel sharp knife. Can do a bird in 15ish minutes hand plucking just me and my wife. I have done too batches of about 15.

 

[salshep20]

I use a cone and a replaceable blade scalpel sharp knife. Can do a bird in 15ish minutes hand plucking just me and my wife. I have done too batches of about 15.

if u skin the bird its easier than plucking

 

[Tre3hugger]

if u skin the bird its easier than plucking

I realize that but I keep quite a few birds whole, and like to put the skin from the chicken I can in my stock pot. The collagen really thickens it up.

 

[MysteryChicken]

For Turkeys we Shoot them in the head with a .22, then cut their head off. Quick, & painless method.


Chickens, their heads get cut off with a knife. (a not so great knife, hate it) Got my dad a brand new hatchet to chop heads, but he says it needs to be sharpened, cuz it's dull.

 

[RUNuts]

if u skin the bird its easier than plucking

Agree. Easier, faster but doesn't taste as good. The skin adds a lot of fat and flavor while keeping the meat moister. Not as important in a broiler, but vital in an old stewing bird.

Unless you have a lot of pin feathers. In that case, ditch the skin cause it isn't always worth fighting for.

 

[Morrigan]

Plucking is worth it to me. I pluck even if there are some pin feathers from a juvenile molt. But, we love the crispy chicken skin you get from roasting and BBQ. And, chicken wings. I've gotten faster and it helps to keep a pair of needle-nose pliers at the ready.

If you can butcher either before or after the juvenile molt, plucking is much, much easier, but sometime the timing just doesn't work out, particularly for the dual purpose cockerels. I find that they are always getting big enough to be worth it, but not yet tough, at the same time as they go through their mini-molt. It's a pain, but it is what it is.

 

[3KillerBs]

and it helps to keep a pair of needle-nose pliers

They've vanished into the other tools during our move, but I like to keep a pair of small needle-nose pliers in the kitchen specifically for tidying up commercial poultry that isn't always so well-plucked.

 

[Hay Belly]

if u skin the bird its easier than plucking

Not to me. Peeling skin with feathers off a wing is impossible and gross and not having crispy chicken skin is a sin.