Harvesting-First timer...help!

[Bettyboop7499]

This is a really bad area..we thought maybe they were pecking each other but these white quills are everywhere not just the bruised areas. I thought maybe I wasn’t plucking them correctly.... I have to scrap the skin and tweeze/squeeze them out

I’m not concerned about the very fine hair I will singe those off. Also, I read the yellowish film is normal??

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've never worried about the yellow film.

 

[aliciaplus3]

This is a really bad area..we thought maybe they were pecking each other but these white quills are everywhere not just the bruised areas. I thought maybe I wasn’t plucking them correctly.... I have to scrap the skin and tweeze/squeeze them out

I’m not concerned about the very fine hair I will singe those off. Also, I read the yellowish film is normal??

These are pin feathers you can sometimes pop them like a zit

 

[3KillerBs]

Also, I read the yellowish film is normal??

The yellow film is the outer cuticle of the skin. It's perfectly normal.

 

[De Bauer]

The blood indicates new feathers.. Also I found the roosters even on the Cornish x had more.

At the farm when I was younger when we plucked layers not all white we used a propane torch or the gas burner on the stove to burn off the hairs but not the large pins.. Short needle nose pliers work well.. Have a bowl of water to swish the jaws in as the pins tend to stick.. Its really not bad.

If you don't eat the skin for health reasons and tend to cook skinless you can always skin them and not pluck at all.. Look to a video for doing it.. After using a plucker...I WILL NEVER EVER EVER HAND PLUCK AGAIN!!!. Its that much better.

Also getting the scald right really makes a difference in my short experience.

 

[Bettyboop7499]

These little things are in every pore...nobody talks about removing them in the “Processing Chickens” YouTube videos. ”5 minute process” my foot!

 

[Bettyboop7499]

These are pin feathers you can sometimes pop them like a zit

t
That is what I’ve been doing and not only is it time consuming it is gross!

 

[aliciaplus3]

t
That is what I’ve been doing and not only is it time consuming it is gross!

I usually get the task of finishing touches meaning that before I put them into the shrink bag I go over the whole bird and remove any remaining pin feathers or feather shafts. it can be very time consuming especially if it is a dark bird or one in the middle of growing in a Bunch of new feathers.

 

[Bettyboop7499]

I usually get the task of finishing touches meaning that before I put them into the shrink bag I go over the whole bird and remove any remaining pin feathers or feather shafts. it can be very time consuming especially if it is a dark bird or one in the middle of growing in a Bunch of new feathers.

So you do remove all these things...because no one was talking about this in any of the cleanup videos I thought I was crazy! Like what am I doing wrong and why do my chickens have them but no one else does.. I did learn a lot and will remember next year to stay on time!

 

[Ridgerunner]

From a safety aspect you do not have to remove them. You can eat them after cooking, they will not harm you. But, they are not attractive. That is important to lot of people. I totally get that.

There is also what I call the YUK! Factor. There are some things that won't hurt me that I just don't want to eat. I often talk about that when discussing blood spots in eggs. I'll eat those eggs unless there is enough blood that I won't. That's a decision you need to make for yourself.

Some people really enjoy the skin so they pluck and deal with the consequences. My wife wants them skinless so I typically skin them and don't have to deal with pin feathers. On the rare occasions I pluck I do remove them, especially the liquid ones.