Preparing to butcher

[broomrider]

I'll be butchering some of my CX next weekend. I have a couple of questions. Butchering is not new to me however it has been SEVERAL years since I've done it and practices have seemed to change a bit.
1. Do most people let the chickens relax in the refrig 2-3 days before cutting them up and putting them in the freezer?
2. Do you still let them relax in the refrig if you are going to freeze them whole?
3. Are the pluckers that attach to a drill worth purchasing? I wish I could afford a Whizbang Plucker but it is not within my budget.

 

[Elke Beck]

1 & 2 For both parts and whole, I let mine rest in the refrigerator until the legs move easily, and then freeze.

3. I tried one of those drill pluckers, and I am not impressed. It was hard to set up the drill because mine requires pressure to control the speed and I had to zip tie the trigger down and adjust the pressure to get the right speed. Then it did not do that great of job plucking, made a huge mess by flinging feathers all over the place. For me, I would rather just scald the bird right and hand pluck. I would like to try a Whiz Bang some day, but I don't do enough birds to make it worthwhile to spend that much money and have to store it.