another way to pluck a chicken

[cybercat]

If you have read the new issue of Backyard Poultry you might have read about the glove use to pluck a chicken. For those that have not gotten a copy the glove is a common rubbberized knit glove. You know the ones with all the little rubber bumps on the fingers and palm. According to the person who sent it in, they can pluck a chicken in 20 seconds pin feathers and all and No bruising. Now talk about an easy way to pluck a chicken it would be no different than petting my cat it seems.

Is anyone else doing this and can report on it. For those of us not doing large numbers this sounds perfect.

 

[Omran]

Quote:
yes I like to know some more info about it please.

 

[hoosiergal]

me too????

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Would this be just the common gardening glove, made of knit fabric & studded with rubber dots on the fingers & palms for a better grip? I'll have to try that.

I also heard someone say they used a similar type of glove, perhaps with longer rubber dots, that was originally a glove used for grooming dogs & cats.

 

[amarook]

My brother-in-law & family butchered their meat birds last Sunday.
After the birds were bled out they first hosed the chickens off.

Then they gave them a good 30 second dunk in boiling water.

After that they held the birds by their feet and while wearing gloves, (They were wearing 2 different kinds. Regular dish washing rubber gloves, and the gardening ones that look like cloth gloves dunked in rubber.)
They ran their hands down the chickens bodies.

I think 20 seconds is a massive exageration. But I would say the birds were pretty clean within a couple minutes with minimal effort.

Once they had them on the processing table they went over them with the backside of a butter knife.

They said saturating the birds before dunking them in the boiling water made sure that the boiling water got in to the surface of the skin.

My bro-in-law's dad worked at a poultry farm when he was young. He was the one who explained the techniques. Everything went really smoothly.

 

[Cyberous]

Quote:
Why didn't I think of that, it totally makes sense.

I got my rubber bumpy gloves and will use this method of presoaking the birds Saturday.

Thanks really usefull!

Don

 

[Trenary Duck Farm]

Are you sure it was boiling water?

 

[cybercat]

Hmm I was always told scalding not boiling. Major temp difference there.

 

[phrogg]

old timers round here always say boiling.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

If you use boiling water it the cooks the skin, it looks bad and rips easy, grandma always turned up the water heater and used that water to scald, how you kill your birds also make a difference on plucking.