The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Bumblebear on December 10, 2012, 06:43:59 pm

Title: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: Bumblebear on December 10, 2012, 06:43:59 pm
I've read on another thread about one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chicken-plucker-poultry-plucking-fingers-Its-easy-/261127450604?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item3ccc68afec (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chicken-plucker-poultry-plucking-fingers-Its-easy-/261127450604?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item3ccc68afec)  but am always really suspicious about "reviews".  Anyone here tried one?
Title: Re: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: Womble on December 10, 2012, 06:55:11 pm

Hmmm, I made one of those myself, but I'm afraid I broke the bearing on it the first time I used it, and to be honest, I wasn't convinced.

I think it's quite possibe that we didn't scald the bird for long enough though. Also, the speed of rotation seems to be very critical.

Perhaps the "fingers of love machine" (as my friend called it) will be resurrected some day, but for the moment, it's gone back in my big cupboard of half finished projects!
Title: Re: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: Bumblebear on December 10, 2012, 08:21:31 pm
Perhaps the "fingers of love machine" (as my friend called it) will be resurrected some day, but for the moment, it's gone back in my big cupboard of half finished projects!

We have a cupboard full of those too!
Title: Re: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: Rosemary on December 10, 2012, 08:25:40 pm
I though this was a thread on the effects of inbreeding  :innocent:
Title: Re: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: hughesy on December 11, 2012, 07:48:08 am
Well if the video's anything to go by it works pretty well. A lot must depend on the scalding I reckon.
Title: Re: Plucking with 15 fingers - anyone tried it?
Post by: Hermit on December 11, 2012, 08:16:25 am
We have tried allsorts but find these homemade jobbies a bit too rough and tear the skin. We have settled for one of those pluckers on stands you drop birds into from Ascot to get rid of 95% of feathers but always finish by hand. We have a lot of birds to do though.
Our first large homemade plucker was the fingers attatched to a spindle thing attatched to a grinder wheel. It was like a snow machine throwing the feathers many feet in the air. It did the job but faffing about trying to be gentle took longer than handplucking!