I'm about to butcher ALOT of extra roos.... need some....

[bja105]

I use a big canning pot for scalding, on a propane burner or campstove. A little dish soap to help it penetrate the feathers, and keep it 140-155º. You will lose a lot of water everytime you pull wet birds out. My big pot scalds two birds at a time.

Make some killing cones, they are worth the effort.

I just used a Featherman Picker, and its great, but costs a grand. For only 30 birds you can hand pluck. I find gutting more tedious than plucking, but that's me. Use a small torch to singe off the hairs that your cockerals will have. I never minded a few pin feathers in my birds, so don't be so picky that you take all day.

Do a few one evening to be a practice run and see what you overlooked. The first couple birds will take much much longer than the last few.

Butcher in the shade, early in the A.M. when its cool and the flies are not bad. I got sunburned and annoyed butchering in the sun Saturday.

Good luck and good eating.

 

[tnchickenut]

I didn't even stop to think about those d*** flies!!! I'll have to be fast about it. I hate flies... this year is HORRIBLE too.

I just have to kill and pluck at my place... then I send the carcass to my mother's to get butchered. She was a butcher's apprentence in her native country so she doesn't mind that stuff. I, personally, think I got the better end of the deal.

I'm still keeping my eye peeled whenever I'm out in stores for things that would work for a pot. I thought about the metal trash cans but the more water you heat the longer it will take to heat it. I thought I would use a campfire to heat the water. I'll be WAY out back and don't want to drag a cord for anything electric, and I definately don't want to shlep water from the house! lol.

I need to set a date because I'm the worlds biggest percrastinator. I have a woman comming to pick up some birds she is buying in two weekends, and I think I will do it the weekend after that. Set my self a date so that it will get done... finally... and before the birds get too big.

Side note: can you believe that my last hatch was 90% or so male!?!? I better get good at this fast!

 

[Winsor Woods]

Last year I had 30 birds to process as well. I did a "test run" on 5 birds mainly to get my scalding technique down. I only made it through 3 birds though. I realized that hand plucking was going to take me forever. It was taking me 10 minutes per bird to pluck and de-pin. Even if I improved to 5 minutes, that's just way too much time. I built a plucker that I chuck in my electric drill. I clamp the drill to my processing table and use a zip tie around the trigger to keep things at the right speed. Then I plug and unplug the drill from the extension cord when I need. I can pluck and de-pin a bird now in about 2 minutes. It takes some practice but well worth it. I purchased some plucking fingers from a BYC member and incorporated those into my plucker. If you're interested, I'll take a picture and post the plucking setup.

For a table, I just use a piece of plywood on saw horses. I have a large white urethane cutting board that I use for all the gutting and cutting so the bird doesn't touch the wood. If that's still not good enough for you, I'd suggest one of those folding leg tables made from that thick plastic.

When doing a large lot of birds, saving time per bird is everything. Please kill them how you are comfortable, but I think you've got an unnecessary step in your suggested killing process. This "dispatcher" I'm not familiar with, but you said that after you use the "dispatcher" you will slice the throat and hang to bleed out. You also mention that it takes two people to use the "dispatcher." That's eating a lot of your time, especially considering that slicing the sides of the neck for the bleedout will take care of your whole killing process. Everyone has their own opinion on what is the least stressful method to the bird and I encourage you to try several different techniques and make up your own mind. Myself, I find that cones and the bleedout are the least stressful for the bird, and also the easiest and timeliest method.

Another tip is to put a few inches of water in the bucket that you will use to catch the blood. It keep s the blood from congealing into a mass of jello-like gunk.

For scalding, I use a coleman propane camp stove and a 16 qt. stock pot. If you're not using a tub style plucker and only one or two people are plucking, then you don't need anything larger. The scald takes one minute and if you have two birds in the scalder and only one person plucking, then you're either going to overscald the second bird or you'll pull it out and it will rest and get cold while you're plucking the first bird. Then you'll most likely have to re-dip the second bird to complete the plucking. I usually do the initial heating of the stock pot in the kitchen and get it up to 155° before bringing outside. Then I light the coleman stove and use that just to maintain the temp at about 145°. When the water level in the pot drops enough to add more water, it's time to take a quick break and drink some coffee while it warms back up. Plucking rather than skinning has two benefits. Fist it protects the meat during freezing and secondly protects the nutrients from leaching out into the cold water during your aging.

Having a hose spigot and hose with a spray nozzle will help you out too. I use this to rinse out the organ cavity after gutting. A great way to hold the bird while you do this is to stick your thumb down between the breast and neck and curl your fingers around the wing. Then you've got a great grip on the bird with the cavity facing down. Then squirt the water up into the cavity and all the bits, etc. wash straight out. Another suggestion is to have a completely separate knife for dressing out the gizzard. The rocks and grit in the gizzard will quickly dull your knife.

Make sure you've got enough coolerspace for aging/resting the birds. 30 birds will use up quite a bit of space. Last year we processed in the fall so it was cool outside. I used a new and clean 33 gallon trashcan and lots of ice to age the birds for 48 hours.

You might also want to get some shrink bags or freezer paper etc. My birds last year were too large to fit in gallon ziplocks. I ended up parting them out and wrapping in freezer paper, but shrink bags would be the easiest and quickest method.

Dan

 

[jjparke]

Skin those puppies don't even mess with the feathers.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I dry pluck. I can't stand the smell of scalded, dirty chickens. It hints of mud and broth mixed to me. I wouldn't want to be eating chicken for a while after that.
I was raised with the scalding method, but when I heard of dry plucking I tried it and don't miss the wet, smelly mess at all.
I hang my birds upside-down and slit their throats and when I know they are dead, I start plucking.
Well 2 days ago I did most of that but I didn't pluck because I was in a hurry to do a million things, so I skinned them......our privious poster was right. It is much faster and it is also healthier and easier. But sometimes I do like the skins.
The equipment I use is:
1. An 'A' frame (formally used for a child's swing).
2. A strong piece of twine about 12 inches to tie the feet from the 'A' frame.
3. A 20 qt soup pot with cold water, to soak the cleaned chickens.
4. An ole hickory pairing knife, to cut the throat and carve the bird.
5. A large pail or bucket to catch the blood, feathers, head and guts.......perhaps something to elevate the bucket closer to the bird.

I would also recommend a shade tree, lawn chair, wet towel (for hands and face), large glass of tea or lemon aid.

I did my 5 roosters in about 90 minutes. If my family would have helped, it would have been a bit faster. Please note that they didn't have a problem eating them today.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
Dan,
the dispatcher kills the bird in a second flat. That is why I prefer it over bleeding them out. No offence, I know everyone does it that way, but if you asked me, "Would you rather get your neck snapped or your throat slit?" I would say "Neck snapped"... so that's just me. I hear what you are saying, but honestly, I would rather take the extra time to hold and pet the bird (as I already do so that they are used to it) and quickly end them than put them in the unfamiliar upside down position and bleed them out. Like you said, everyone has their own way. I could "dispatch" myself and not have the second person, but that seems to me like a recipe for complications and stress. I guess that part depends on the temperment and size of the bird, though.

I like the idea of the drill plucker. I have seen pictures of some (maybe like yours) and seems it would work well.



jj
I thought about skinning, but my main objection there is I like the skin... maybe I'll mix it up and see what works best.



rhoda
My mother said the smell bothered her too... which is why that is my job. I tried to pluck a hen (who died of natural causes) for her barred feathers for tieing... and anyways... it wasn't that easy but it wasn't that hard.... I imagine doing the whole bird is harder though. Like I said... maybe I'll mix it up. Start with three birds and try it three different ways to see what works best. Changing it up will work well for my ADD lol

 

[Winsor Woods]

By all means proceed with that method if you are more comfortable with it. It sounds like you're thinking things through and that's the important part.

As far as birds being in the killing cone upside down, I've never had one wig out once their in the cone. The most stressful part, for me and the bird, seems to be pulling one out of the pen and walking to the processing area. They really calm down once they get in the cone and rarely make any sound at all. They don't struggle at all in the cone until they get to the "Death Throws" stage and, from what I've read here at BYC, the death throws are involuntary spasms, not a conscious struggle.

Let us know what you end up with for a plucking strategy. You might come up with some new ideas that will help us all out.

Dan