Best power drill plucker attachment?

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Did you ever find an attachment or anything or are you hand plucking. How many birds are you doing?

We have 7 birds. I don't use Amazon so I've been looking on eBay. I am thinking this one. We're gonna try the drill attachment and if it's no good we'll hand-pluck.

 

[cmobley]

We have 7 birds. I don't use Amazon so I've been looking on eBay. I am thinking this one. We're gonna try the drill attachment and if it's no good we'll hand-pluck.

Lots of YouTube videos on different drill pluckers. 7 birds ain’t bad I had 25. No way I’d hand pluck 25 birds I have the yardbird but got it at a steal.

 

[FunClucks]

We have 7 birds. I don't use Amazon so I've been looking on eBay. I am thinking this one. We're gonna try the drill attachment and if it's no good we'll hand-pluck.

That's not too bad even if you have to hand pluck. With just me (one person) , from picking out the chicken from the coop to putting it in the fridge (entire process, including parting out the bird and packaging it up in plastic bags) was 2 hours per chicken with scalding/plucking, and 1.5 hrs/chicken with skinning. I did 2 birds in the evenings after work and 4-6 per day on the weekends. Got through 20 in a couple weeks. If you have two (helpful) people, you could cut that time in half I think.

 

[Morrigan]

I've never tried a power drill. I thought about it but worried about the mess of feathers going everywhere, and possibly tearing up the skin. I've also wondered how well the drill pluckers do with pin feathers. If you try one out, please report back on your experience.

I've found that hand plucking does get easier with practice. I don't find plucking much of a chore now, although I only do a few birds at a time. Some of it is just getting faster and more nimble at the plucking, including getting out those pesky pin feathers. Some of it is getting the scald exactly. A big part for me was getting in the right mind set -- I know that it is going to be a fiddly little task, and I just get on with it. DH and I can do about 4 birds in an hour now -- from set up to clean up. When we first started it took us about twice that long.

As for the pin feathers -- it does seem like CX are either finishing up with their initial feathering or going into their juvenile molt right when you want to butcher them. There doesn't seem to be much help for it. For CX hens, it might be possible to wait until they are 4 or 5 months old and through the juvenile molt. I've done that with slow broiler hens. they are still plenty tender, and quite large at that stage.

 

[cmobley]

Keep a check on your local Craigslist for a plucker if you decide to buy one. I got my yardbird off there last October for 150.00 because they thought the motor was shot. That motor uses a 10 dollar starting capacitor to run and that’s usually the issue. It’s a simple fix snip 2 wires and reconnect the new capacitor.

 

[FunClucks]

Keep a check on your local Craigslist for a plucker if you decide to buy one. I got my yardbird off there last October for 150.00 because they thought the motor was shot. That motor uses a 10 dollar starting capacitor to run and that’s usually the issue. It’s a simple fix snip 2 wires and reconnect the new capacitor.

I've been wanting one for AGES! No luck yet...

 

[123RedBeard]

Hope you have better luck!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-you-about-my-cordless-drill-plucker.1208308/

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Thank you guys for all the helpful responses! I ended up buying this drill plucker and I will update you guys on how it works in probably 6 or 7 weeks when I process. Crossing my fingers that it wasn't a waste of money!

 

[Morrigan]

Thank you guys for all the helpful responses! I ended up buying this drill plucker and I will update you guys on how it works in probably 6 or 7 weeks when I process. Crossing my fingers that it wasn't a waste of money!

It sounds like you were able to solve the problem of your wet yard and get some meat birds after all. Glad to hear that.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

It sounds like you were able to solve the problem of your wet yard and get some meat birds after all. Glad to hear that.

Thanks! Yes, we are going to use the tractor if it's dry but if it gets swampy we have a prefab coop + run on an elevated area of the yard that we will keep adding wood chips to.