Prcessed our first birds, now i have questions

[pattgal]

So we processed our first birds. Wasn't much, just the roosters that were driving me nuts. a couple of EE's at 13 weeks
which leads me to a couple of questions
1) Is there such a thing as over scalding? when we were plucking them alot of the skin came off with them (or were the roosters too young and too tender as a result)
2) the chickens were very stiff while processing, Why did that happen and How do I avoid that?
Thank you so much

 

[paddock36]

Yes you can over scald them but that just makes it easier to just skin them instead of plucking. As far as them getting stiff that is normal rigamortis (I'm sure I spelled that wrong

) setting in. Now you need to let them rest in the fridge for a couple/few days.