My Plucker - Version 1 - Video of birds being plucked

[Sillystunt]

wow, i was impressed! i need my husband to make me one. With all the old equiptment we have, geeessshh!

 

[Royd]

The thing looks like it could beat you up, if you're not careful. While watching this, I began to wonder if anyone has attempted to pluck a chicken, with a pressure washer.
Maybe scald 3 or 4, at a time, hang them up, and start at about 2,000 psi, with a wide tip.
From the way that machine operates, it looks like you could blow the feathers off of a chicken, pretty easily, in the right direction.

If nothing else, it might be good for a few laughs.

 

[PurpleChicken]

It doesn't hurt when the fingers hit you. I spin it at 800 rpm and use real plucker fingers. My original version used bungies and those stung a little. It isn't a whizbang or pro plucker but it does save time when doing multiple birds. For 1 to 4 birds I don't bother setting it up.

 

[Raen]

I'm bumping this, as we're considering building a plucker for the 30-50 chickens we plan to process this year.

Why no 5 gallon buckets as drums? Have people done this? It seems like you could rig up a smaller version of the wizz-bang plucker with a 5 gallon bucket and some bungie cord fingers, but there must be a reason this isn't popular, because it's a fairly obvious design. Anyone tried this? Is it just more trouble to build than the drill version?

 

[pellepeterson]

I am hoping that I am not too too late to ask a question about these pluckers! I have an electric drill but think it is too slow, looking at other motors, I see they run around 1750 RPM for single phase 120V.

I have a thought of using an old circular saw, cutting threads in the end of a shaft to screw into the arbor, then across (12 inches or so) to a pillow bearing, with the plucker in the middle. I have read a lot on speed...seems around 1000 RPM's is where it is at...any idea where the old Skil Saw would fall into that? I am hunting down old table saw motors as well, and I am sure I can rig a transmission of sorts with belts and pulleys. This is an awesome thread, so thankful for you all on BYC...I am addicted and looking for more!

Some friends and I are in the process of planning our meat birds, around 50 for three or four of us (less depending on critters), and the processing has been slowing us down. This is where the answers are at!

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