What's the big deal about plucking by hand?

[booker81]

I didn't have much of a time with plucking my roo - my scald was 148 and I dunked and swished, checked a wing feather, dunked and swished, checked a wing etc, until I could pull the wing feather out easily, then I put him in the ice bath to cool him down so I could get to plucking. I was moesying, so it took about 15 mins to get him done. When I was close to done, I just put him in the cold bath so I could see what feathers were there and what ones were just stuck on.

Most of the feathers just wiped off, the few pins I used a butter knife to scrape out. The wing and tail feathers came out with minimal effort - because those were the ones I tested LOL.

I used my waterbath canner for the scald pot, and the sink with cold water and ice so I could have LOTS of water, less change in temp when putting the bird in.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-properly-scald-chicken-my-never.html

This is good information on getting a good scald for plucking. Check the rest of that site for other great info on butchering.

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

My family and I processed three roosters Saturday. They were older 1 was between 2 and 3 years old and the other 2 were hatched last fall around Oct. Its amazing what really hot water can do. and 4 pair of hands plucking all at the same time.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I was surprised how easily the feathers come off the first time we processed. I do the same dunking method and it works well.

A few minutes in the scalding water and they just peel off. But it is annoying with the feathers sticking to your hands. First time the smell bothered me, this time I didn't even notice it.

 

[noahsark]

I am wondering if theres a trick for all the pin feathers..i am only the raising partner, my friend is doing the dirty work. We have black javas, and she said it took her a couple hours a bird, trying to get all those black pin feathers out..also noticed the skin was yellow and thick and rubbery to eat..They were 110 days old at kill. any tips?

 

[NevadaRon]

From what I've read, most people singe the pin feathers off. I'm not quite sure exactly how that works, though.

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Done another 8 this past weekend. 3 were about 1 year old and 2 were about 6 months old and the other 3 ere around 4 1/2 months old.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
It's not really the pin feathers they singe off, which would leave a chunk of feather shaft in the skin. It the thin ones that are more like hair that they singe off. I pull most of those out, and ignore the rest. Choosing the right time to butcher helps. If you do them when they'll fully feathered, there are very few pin feathers. If they haven't fully feathered out, or if they're growing in new feathers after molt, there will be lots of pin feathers.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
At 110 days they're 17 weeks, about 4 months old, just reaching maturity. And that's when they may be growing in a lot of new feathers, which would give you all those nasty black pinfeathers to remove. It might help to let them grow for a few more weeks before butchering. At least check them over before you plan to dispatch them, if you notice a lot of pinfeathers under their top coat you should wait. Or just plan to skin them instead.

Still, if you've gotten a good scald you should be able to scrape off most of those pinfeathers with a dull butter knife. Hang the bird by his feet and scrape down with the knife, like you're shaving him. It certainly would take a few hours if you try to pick them out one at a time.

I don't know why the skin would be thick, yellow & rubbery. Maybe you tried to scald him too many times, or at too high of a temperature? Or maybe he spent too much time unchilled waiting for all his pinfeathers to be removed. I wish you better success next time.

 

[mtfg832]

I have got to say that in my experience plucking by hand is really NO big deal. But I've read a lot of posts from other folks who complain about how long it takes to pluck, or how difficult it was for them, or who construct elaborate plucking machines before they begin processing their birds. So I want to say here that with the proper preparation it shouldn't take very long, or be too difficult, and can easily be done by hand.

Of course, if you have a large number of birds to process at one time, if you find that you have an aversion to the smell of wet feathers, or if you're a person who needs little excuse to build some nifty machine, then go right ahead and build your mechanical plucker. Or sharpen your skinning knives.

Otherwise, you will need only two, maybe three things to make your hand-plucking chore a breeze:

1. A large pot of scalding water. Large enough to fit the bird head-first and reach up to its tail. Make sure the water is good & hot, around 140-150 degrees. You can keep the water hot over a camp stove, fire pit, BBQ grill, turkey fryer, or on your stove top. It need not STAY at that temp the whole time you are butchering, just be hot during the dunking. I keep pots simmering on the stove inside and have my teen periodically refresh the water in my scalding pot outdoors. Hold your bird by his feet & agitate him up & down so the hot water reaches down to the skin. After about 10 dunks try pulling out a wing feather, if it comes out easily then he's ready to pluck.

2. A sturdy place to hang the bird by his tied-together feet. This can be a tree branch, fence post, clothesline, whatever. Hang your bird so he's about shoulder-height. I use a metal porch-swing frame I've repurposed for my processing chores. When you hang the bird you'll have both hands free for plucking, which makes the chore go much faster. It's as easy as cleaning the lint trap in the dryer, and goes almost as fast.

3. (Optional) Gloves. The feathers will be sticky & you'll need to frequently shake your hands to get them off. They seem to cling less to rubber gloves, and those cloth gardening gloves with the rubber dots work really well.

You can just let the feathers fall where they will, or put a garbage can under the bird to contain the feathers. The last time I processed I was able to pluck each bird clean in about 5 minutes. I usually have to work by myself, and do only about 6 or less at a time.

Thank you for this post. That was awesome. Had a lot of very good information.