Pin-feathers on skin-less bird?

[Life is Good!]

Please don't laugh too hard at me...

When you skin a chicken (instead of plucking), the pin-feathers come off with the skin, right?

Well, that's what the FR's we grew up this spring seem to do. Or perhaps their light colored feathers are simply masked on the light meat?

Our Black Java flock, which is now being thinned of cockerals, we are processing identically to the FR's. But when I go back to do their final rinse after rigor passes, there are a WHOLE lot of very dark black super-skinny feathers (pin feathers) - especially on the wings, legs and back. So how do you go about removing those prior to freezing or cooking? I wouldn't wish to lightly singe the bird without skin on it for fear of cooking the meat! And as these are going into freezer camp, I'm concerned about heating the meat (even slightly) prior to freezing, if it's cooled by the fridge.

Advice welcome! Please! I've got 4 more birds to do - short of taking one of my husband's 'camp' razors to the birds - which I think would be REALLY ridiculous! Although that's what my 10yo son did to eat a drumstick last night, but he used a steak knife to 'shave' the legs!

 

[faykokoWV]

I would either try to hand pluck those, or just wait until you are thawing them to cook and then singe them off

 

[Wax Myrtle]

You may be confusing pinfeathers with filoplumes. Pin feathers are new feathers still in the process of growing in. If they haven't emerged from the skin yet, you can pop them out, sort of like squeezing a human skin "blemish." I've used strawberry hulling pincers for this. Filoplumes are hair-like feathers, and can be singed with flaming newspaper, or you can spend a long time plucking them by hand. They seem to show up better after a frozen bird thaws. Or, as your son discovered, can be shaved at the table. Neither filoplumes nor pin feathers should remain on a skinned bird.

 

[Life is Good!]

Yep, that's what I was seeing - and my son was picky about. My other family members didn't care a lick about it - and licked the bones clean! Guess I know who's the fastidious one of the family....!
Glad to know I wasn't imagining these feather's presence before freezer vs. after freezing. Because I KNOW the bird was clean when he went into freezer camp!