Home made chicken plucker / how to make

[BMaverick]

This is what I built last week Jean

OK, this was just referenced on Homemadetools.net Much of the stuff there deals with wood working or welding, but every once in a while a great item like this shows up.

Is there a video of this in action? I don't want to build something that will grab feathers and then toss them all over the place, especially on me. haha All I would need then is a can of tar.

Seriously, reading other tips of placing a garbage can under-neath would be a coll deal too. I wasn't too fond of the large plastic barrel thing due to cleaning and storage space. This image looks doable. I can make a table of this when not in use and still use the drill. Thus a multi-use setup.

OK, found this on the web http://beckys-stockpot.blogspot.com/2010/08/processing-broiler-chickens.html So, The direction the drill spins dictates where those feathers end-up. Maybe a deflector plastic sheet to a garbage can would work.

 

[Justin-Dallas]

Good people of BC!

Ive watched a few how to make a plucker videos, and there always seems to be a motor underneath the drum, on a pulley wheel type of system. Is there any real need for this? My thought was to have the motor (grinder / polisher / drill) mounted above the drum, with the plucking pan mounted on bearings (to aid less friction and easy rotating).

Does anyone with more experience see any issues on why this wouldnt work?
Would love any feedback.

 

[MountainChook]

I know that this is an old post but I found this great youtube video to show how to make a chicken plucker out of a drill and pvc pipe.

 

[Justin-Dallas]

Ok, parts finally arrived (pillow bearings & drill shank) from eBay, so managed to put together my drill based plucker. Used it for 6 birds this weekend - amazing! Takes like 50seconds per bird. Im using a powered drill (instead of cordless), and that has a speed limiter built in as you dont want the plucker to go too fast.

Next Ill rig up some sort of waterproof switch to turn it on and off.

 

[Birdinhand]

greetings all, I'm new to bird processing. we harvested our first 7 cornish X a few weekends ago. it all went pretty well, I borrowed a drill bit style plucker from the local farm coop and it worked pretty well, certainly way better than hand plucking. it did make me wonder if there isn't a less messy way to go about it. I ordered the wizzbang plans and read through the long manual several times, even began considering sources for motors but in the end, it's pretty pricy to make such a device, considering I'm only going to be processing 50 ish birds a year (25 spring/25 fall). looking at this thread I'm now considering creating a similar frame, lining it with shower stall liner (thick whit plastic) and am even considering adding a second cylinder with fingers run by a second drill. I have two cordless high power makita drills. has anyone tried mounting two of these in say a V shape, or maybe in parallel? I have to admit that i'm tempted to go the route of "dirt cheap and simple", considering this thing will sit idle most of it's existence.

 

[Burger Bob]

Ok, parts finally arrived (pillow bearings & drill shank) from eBay, so managed to put together my drill based plucker. Used it for 6 birds this weekend - amazing! Takes like 50seconds per bird. Im using a powered drill (instead of cordless), and that has a speed limiter built in as you dont want the plucker to go too fast.

Next Ill rig up some sort of waterproof switch to turn it on and off.

Ok, parts finally arrived (pillow bearings & drill shank) from eBay, so managed to put together my drill based plucker. Used it for 6 birds this weekend - amazing! Takes like 50seconds per bird. Im using a powered drill (instead of cordless), and that has a speed limiter built in as you dont want the plucker to go too fast.

Next Ill rig up some sort of waterproof switch to turn it on and off.

Justin, what kind of stand do you have this mounted onto?

 

[Burger Bob]

Justin, what kind of stand do you have this mounted onto?

And what size and style are they? And one last thing please. What size drill shank are you using?

 

[Burger Bob]

And what size and style are they? And one last thing please. What size drill shank are you using?

By the size I was meaning the pillow bearings.

 

[Justin-Dallas]

Mr Bob - its a welded steel frame, made from 1 inch mild steel tube. The 4 legs are at a slight angle outwards for stability. I have a small IGBT welding machine, so made sense to use what I had. The pillow bearings are bolted to the frame.

The drill shank is off eBay (1/4" Hex Shank to 3/8") - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Ha...135637?hash=item4afa225bd5:g:sQ4AAOSwWTRW1WGs this I use a long nut to secure to the treadbar. The 1/4inch shank makes more sense, as it wont slip like something round like a normal drill bit, I also got a SDS shank too, just in case.

The pillow bearings are 10mm (as I had a 10mm thread bar already), http://www.ebay.com/itm/10mm-Bore-D...KP08-Silver-/291822053851?hash=item43f1f329db.


I made a quick video when I finished building it -

Also heres a video of us processing with it, showing speed & setup -

You could, I guess, place some sort of tarp underneath the plucker, to collect feathers, making cleanup easier.

 

[Burger Bob]

Mr Bob - its a welded steel frame, made from 1 inch mild steel tube. The 4 legs are at a slight angle outwards for stability. I have a small IGBT welding machine, so made sense to use what I had. The pillow bearings are bolted to the frame.

The drill shank is off eBay (1/4" Hex Shank to 3/8") - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Ha...135637?hash=item4afa225bd5:g:sQ4AAOSwWTRW1WGs this I use a long nut to secure to the treadbar. The 1/4inch shank makes more sense, as it wont slip like something round like a normal drill bit, I also got a SDS shank too, just in case.

The pillow bearings are 10mm (as I had a 10mm thread bar already), http://www.ebay.com/itm/10mm-Bore-D...KP08-Silver-/291822053851?hash=item43f1f329db.


I made a quick video when I finished building it -

Also heres a video of us processing with it, showing speed & setup -

You could, I guess, place some sort of tarp underneath the plucker, to collect feathers, making cleanup easier.

Thanks for the info Mr. Justin! I went yesterday and purchased some materials for the other plucker shown in this thread. The one that is made out of a wooden frame before I stumbled upon yours. I have no access to a welder so I would have to modify your setup to fit the wooden frame type. The only thing is I bought a 36" piece of 3/8" all thread rod to drill through the end caps. So I am really at a complete loss of what I would need to fashion it to be like yours with the drill shank and pillow bearings. Any suggestions would surely be appreciated.
Thanks, Bobby