Processed today, a couple of questions for next time.

[Mrs. K]

A couple of problems, the bones on the wings often popped through the skin, possibly from the occasional flapping at the end? Should I use a velcro band around them, while hanging them to bleed out?

We used a drill mounted chicken plucker, sometimes the skin tore, I think the scald might have been too hot? I was using a thermometer, but maybe not quite accurate enough, it is kind of old.

 

[Mosey2003]

Stick them into a cone as soon as they're dispatched so that the wings can't flap. You can also cut a corner off of a feed bag and put the head through that and wrap them up if you don't want to get/make a cone.

You want your scalding water to be between 140-150, hotter than that is more likely to tear. And don't just plunk them in until you think they're done, dip and swish and pull out, repeat that until a tail feather comes out okay or until you can just rub the feathers off the legs. If that was your scalding temperature and they truly weren't over-scalded, you might need to use less pressure on the drill.

 

[Mrs. K]

thanks, I will adjust things