Hi, I butchered 6 broilers today. Though I have butchered for many years with my parents, this was my first attempt alone. I figured for 6 birds that It would take me 2 hours from the kill to the cool. In reality I spent over 4. I did pluck, and it seemed the pin feathers took forever. If there is no secret to pin feathers, I think I will skin the breast and just pluck the drums and thighs. I have 200 more to do. I can't afford to spend that much time on each 6. Is 6 too many to attempt at one time alone? Ideally, I would like to do 10 per day. My other chickens are black giants and RI Reds. They will be 14 weeks the end of this month, and that is when I had planned their demise. Thanks for all your suggestions!

Blessings to you Maylene

-- Maylene (zedanka@aol.com), June 08, 2001

Answers

I use rubber gloves the type used for dish washing, and rub the skin the opposite direction as the pin feathers. thay grab on the pin feathers .It takes a shorter time and gets them out better and faster.The more you do the faster you'll get.

-- TJ (offshoot@cs.com), June 09, 2001.

Maylene, you will get faster and faster as you get practice, I use the rubber gloves also and it seems to work. I do 6 a day, more than that and I can't eat chicken for months. I kill 3, pluck and dress, than do 3 more. Takes me about 1 1/2 hour max. GL 200.....are you selling them dressed???? Huge family????

-- diane (gardiacaprine@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001.

Here's 2 sites on butchering:

http://www.siteupgrade.com/poultry/butcheringpoultry.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI0701.html

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), June 09, 2001.

We don't eat chicken with the skin on, so we just skin them instead of plucking. It's pretty fast that way. My husband does 6 in about an hour and a half. We don't do them often, so if you did, I'm sure you could get faster at it, when you got the routine down. When we did pluck, we lit a rolled up newspaper and singed off the small feathers.

-- Homesteadma (idlewild@multipro.com), June 09, 2001.

We have been butchering chickens for let's say a looong time. We,(my husband, daughter, myself, and whoever we can convince) have a system going.It take about 3 hrs, set-up to finish cleaning everything to butcher 100 chickens. I chop off heads, my husband and whoever we get to help, rips off the skin and guts them, I get around the table and clean out any remaining stuff(we'll leave it at that), our daughter comes and gets them out of the ice water and puts them in the frig. We leave them there till the next day. It then takes me 2 days to slice off the breasts, freeze them seperate, and also freeze the legs seperate. The rest I boil and can up for whatever, soup, stir fries, Barb-B-Qs, etc. We didn't master this speed the first or the second year for sure. You will develope your own technique. If I didn't have the help it for sure would take me longer!! Just keep on a plucking, (a little humor). It is well worth the work. Debbi

-- debbi (snflr216@aol.com), June 14, 2001.

If the chickens are for your personal use. And not for sale. What I do is completly skin the chicken. takes a minute of course it limits how you cook withit. I still bread them for frying and I still use them for anything i use boiled chicken for like soup , cr chicken and stir fry. Actually it is healthier less fat with out the skin so far family hasnt complained. Actually they are happy they dont have to pluck !!!Good Luck

-- paul miller (millerclan@alltel.net), June 16, 2001.

Fancier the secret to picking or plucking chickens is this When the hot water has been applied to the bird, Then with the fingers and THUMB rub the feathers off not individual picking them. the rubbing of the thumb takes all the pin fethers with it. Then when done take the bird into the stove nd with low heat take and hold the bird over the fire and quickly have the fire burn off the pin fethers.. Do so quickly and moving the birds body over the heat. Need more help email. I have done commerical chicken plucking since I was 8 yrs old, thousands of birds later the result is till the same. You can email me at frizzlebird@yahoo.com at my article email for the full instructions to my plucking chickens. Glenda l. Heywood nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com

-- GLHeywood (nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com), June 21, 2001.

Fancier well after rereading the post i see where you are now attempting to do the RR and black birds. Next time only buy white birds or yellow skinned birds. Why? because the dark fethered birds will have a black or red oil left in the skin when you are done. Now take and soak in 1 cup vinager per 5 gallon of cold water and rub the oil out of the buthcered bird. By doing this you can get a better colored skim If this is not to you likeing I think you better skin the dark colored birds. I never like colored birds but had plenty of them as we hatched 3500 a yr of different breeds. But if defeathering them rub with the thumb good/ i did 48 a day from start to finish by my self. Then froze them. PS there are 13 pieces of cut up chicken if not saving the liver. Glenda L. Heywood nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com

-- GLHeywood (nationalpoultrynews@yahoo.com), June 21, 2001.