hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
Bee! You're killing me with this WONDERFUL description and you're not gonna post pictures!!
MEAT BIRDS THREAD ~Plans, pics, pens, pluckers, processing! GRAPHIC!
- Thread starter Beekissed
- Start date
rhoda_bruce
Almost Self-Reliant
Bee....I processed my 6 drakes today and I wasn't too happy with what the plucker did for me with them. I was wishing I was doing chickens. I'd have finished a long time earlier. I'm really tired. DH had helped me with the broilers and it was a Godsend, but he was dealing with drying onions and planting the raised beds.
Well, its not fun but its all done. Can't keep all the animals....those drakes weren't ever going to give me a single egg, but I'm sure they will taste great over rice. Plus my feed can go more to my laying flock....yeehaa.
Well, its not fun but its all done. Can't keep all the animals....those drakes weren't ever going to give me a single egg, but I'm sure they will taste great over rice. Plus my feed can go more to my laying flock....yeehaa.
- Thread starter
- #133
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
Sorry! 
I'll get there and I'll post the pics....I can't wait for you guys to see all the neato features this will have. Found a really cool idea for nesting boxes and such that I think you all will really like. I'm also doing a few ideas of my own with stuff we have here to create a neat little pop door and outside egg recovery. I'm also mounting an adjustable feeder made from rain guttering if I can find the right hardware...if not, I'll just make some out of imagination. I hope to do a YouTube video on it when it is done if I can borrow a camera as I don't know if mine has good enough sound quality.
Can't wait to hear how your ducks taste! Do you have a preferred way of cooking them?
I'll get there and I'll post the pics....I can't wait for you guys to see all the neato features this will have. Found a really cool idea for nesting boxes and such that I think you all will really like. I'm also doing a few ideas of my own with stuff we have here to create a neat little pop door and outside egg recovery. I'm also mounting an adjustable feeder made from rain guttering if I can find the right hardware...if not, I'll just make some out of imagination. I hope to do a YouTube video on it when it is done if I can borrow a camera as I don't know if mine has good enough sound quality. Rhoda, tell me more about your plucker? What kind is it and how did it do? Were they wet or dry? I'm so curious because I'm thinking about ordering the waterfowl plucker from Cabelas that attaches to a drill, and then modifying it for chickens...is yours the same type? I was going to make my own but I couldn't have made it this cheaply...$14.99.rhoda_bruce said:
Can't wait to hear how your ducks taste! Do you have a preferred way of cooking them?
- Thread starter
- #134
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
I hope to do my first processing workshop this spring. Anyone ever do or attend one and what was your impression? Anything you can tell me to avoid or add? How much did they charge and how many attended? I'm only going to have openings for 20 people, with 10 per each of two sessions.
rhoda_bruce
Almost Self-Reliant
I have the Steel Table Top Picker with Motor from McMurray Hatchery for $350.
After the first drake, I told DH to get away from the dehydrator a little while and google plucking ducks. He said to put the heat up slightly more than for chickens, hold them under a little longer and add soap to the water.......all done, but it was hit and miss with my successes. If I need a plucker for ducks, separate from the chickens, it better attach to a drill and be cheap. I don't need a big appliance for the same purpose taking up room here and costing me lots of money. And I'm glad my DH isn't a duck hunter, because although I'd love the meat, I'd hate to have 30 ducks at a time in front of me to clean.....unless the whole family is helping me. The plucker you have pictured would be well worth the investement, even just to try. If it works, you can save lots of money over what I paid. Probably can use them for chickens too. The only thing is my table top keeps most of the feathers right under the plucker, until you feel you have to unclog after 10 or so birds. With that plucker, I have no idea where the feathers would go, but only one way to find out and for that price, I'd give it a try.
After the first drake, I told DH to get away from the dehydrator a little while and google plucking ducks. He said to put the heat up slightly more than for chickens, hold them under a little longer and add soap to the water.......all done, but it was hit and miss with my successes. If I need a plucker for ducks, separate from the chickens, it better attach to a drill and be cheap. I don't need a big appliance for the same purpose taking up room here and costing me lots of money. And I'm glad my DH isn't a duck hunter, because although I'd love the meat, I'd hate to have 30 ducks at a time in front of me to clean.....unless the whole family is helping me. The plucker you have pictured would be well worth the investement, even just to try. If it works, you can save lots of money over what I paid. Probably can use them for chickens too. The only thing is my table top keeps most of the feathers right under the plucker, until you feel you have to unclog after 10 or so birds. With that plucker, I have no idea where the feathers would go, but only one way to find out and for that price, I'd give it a try.
- Thread starter
- #136
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
This plucker had reviews that stated it works best if the ducks are dry vs. when wet. Maybe your plucker would have done better if the ducks were dry also? I think ducks have a finer feather quill and more down than chicken, making it harder to grasp the feathers when wet...more oil in their feathers as well.
Since meaty birds also have finer, newer feathers, I'm going to attempt dry plucking on them with this plucker attachment, but I'm going to mount it to a box and just attach a drill to it there. I'm also going to mount a hood on that I'm making from half a detergent jug, with the mouth of the jug at the back of the hood, and mount the hose of my shop vac on the jug's spout/mouth...this way the feathers are sucked in the shop vac as soon as they are plucked.
Hoping to contain the feathers in this manner, keep the plucker from getting jammed up and also re-use the feathers for pillows after they are washed and dried.
Since meaty birds also have finer, newer feathers, I'm going to attempt dry plucking on them with this plucker attachment, but I'm going to mount it to a box and just attach a drill to it there. I'm also going to mount a hood on that I'm making from half a detergent jug, with the mouth of the jug at the back of the hood, and mount the hose of my shop vac on the jug's spout/mouth...this way the feathers are sucked in the shop vac as soon as they are plucked.
Hoping to contain the feathers in this manner, keep the plucker from getting jammed up and also re-use the feathers for pillows after they are washed and dried.
rhoda_bruce
Almost Self-Reliant
My heart is broken (not really). I showed DH the drill/plucker and price and he doesn't think it will work any better than my tabletop. So unless one of you guys have chickens and waterfowl, like me, and give it a try on both to let the rest of us know how well it worked on each, I'll up the creek (or bayou, I should say).
I hope some of you have a variety of poultry to give a comparison. Believe me you can't do too much better than the price Bee showed for the plucker.
Of course, I can always go behind his back and do it anyway....even give it a try out while he is at work, but guess what.....I'm outta water fowl to slaughter at the moment, so its pointless.
I hope some of you have a variety of poultry to give a comparison. Believe me you can't do too much better than the price Bee showed for the plucker.
Of course, I can always go behind his back and do it anyway....even give it a try out while he is at work, but guess what.....I'm outta water fowl to slaughter at the moment, so its pointless.
- Thread starter
- #138
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
After I make mine and try it out on poultry, I'll see if I can't buy a duck for sale...usually there are plenty of drakes for sale out there after the Easter ducklings have worn out their welcomes. Then I'll try it on a duck. I watched it on YouTube and there is a special way you can hold the waterfowl that increases the success, wherein the skin is pulled taut during the plucking.
Is there any way you can return this plucker, claiming it was not to your satisfaction? I'd give it a try at least.
Is there any way you can return this plucker, claiming it was not to your satisfaction? I'd give it a try at least.
rhoda_bruce
Almost Self-Reliant
For chickens, its wonderful, although I had formally been dry plucking all my birds, but considering I'm doing 100% of my slaughtering outdoors, the smell really isn't bad. I do have to dispose of a hot pot of dirty water afterwards, but I have a few ant piles I don't mind scalding, so thats Okay. The plucker really cut my slaughtering time to a minimum. I haven't tried it on guineas yet. I did try it on goslings just before Christmas, dry.......I can give it another try, now that I'm getting a better feel for the thing. I did have feathers flying around for the goslings, but I ended up hand plucking both of them.
I can try dry again if I get my hands on a few unwanted drakes. Yesterday, I did try changing positions of the birds to see if I can strip them down faster. On a few of the birds, I actually did get a good amount of feathers off. But when I tried to recreate the conditions that caused my success, it didn't always turn out as b4.
I can try dry again if I get my hands on a few unwanted drakes. Yesterday, I did try changing positions of the birds to see if I can strip them down faster. On a few of the birds, I actually did get a good amount of feathers off. But when I tried to recreate the conditions that caused my success, it didn't always turn out as b4.
Snowhunter
Power Conserver
Sorry I haven't updated in a while.. too much going on and too much contemplation of strangling one of my cows
Anyways, the meat birds are doing great. Everyone is super healthy, growing but not super fast and poops are still looking like normal chicken poop. They prefer clabber/sprouts over dry feed so I did completely cut that out of thier diet. I'll be discing the garden area and then setting them up to be outside from now on. They're almost fully feathered, so they should be alright, as long as they don't drown when it rains.
The standard breeds are doing well, also. Not much difference from how they're growing on the alternative diet vs the chicks I raised last year on chick starter.
Will try and get pics later today.
Hope yall are all doing well... Bee, I am interested in seeing your hoop coop... we had one and aside from leaking tarps, they are terrific.
Anyways, the meat birds are doing great. Everyone is super healthy, growing but not super fast and poops are still looking like normal chicken poop. They prefer clabber/sprouts over dry feed so I did completely cut that out of thier diet. I'll be discing the garden area and then setting them up to be outside from now on. They're almost fully feathered, so they should be alright, as long as they don't drown when it rains.
The standard breeds are doing well, also. Not much difference from how they're growing on the alternative diet vs the chicks I raised last year on chick starter.
Will try and get pics later today.
Hope yall are all doing well... Bee, I am interested in seeing your hoop coop... we had one and aside from leaking tarps, they are terrific.
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