[Miss Piggy]

Hi all,

We have kept poultry for nearly 15 years but only fancy fowl and laying birds. Im thinking of keeping some table birds now as well. I want to be sure I will be able to pluck and dress the birds once reared.   
Does anybody know of a good course within about 150 miles of West Wales or a good DVD. I would like some hands on experience if possible before I take the plunge. I'm only thinking of having 10-12 birds at a time for our own personal consumption. 

Many thanks in anticipation of replies.

[Womble]

Hiya, To be honest, I managed OK having watched a few Youtube videos. OK, so the first one took over an hour to do, but I got quicker after that  . The main thing for me was dispatching the first few humanely (not enjoyable), but once it's dead, the plucking is really easy, and the drawing gets better with practice!

This website on chicken butchering is pretty useful too.

HTH!

[Miss Piggy]

Cheers Womble, never thought of you tube, although I use it for demos of lots of other things. Thanks for the link too. 

[Maria1969]

The first tiime I did mine I had my lap top on the side with a combination of Hugh F Whittingstall free on line lesson & utube...lol

It was quite easy as you can stop/pause/replay etc etc.

M x

[SallyintNorth]

Would someone near you have spare cockerals they wouldn't mind you having for the pot, so you could practise?  And have some nice coq au vin into the bargain.  The worst that can happen is a bit that shouldn't burst, bursts, and you have to wash some meat very thoroughly or, if you don't fancy it after that, feed it to your very appreciative cat.     Butchering failures just mean chicken stew or pie instead of roast.   

(Guess how I learned...!) 

Actually, I was lucky enough to be working on a country estate that had a pheasant shoot; most shooting days there'd be a pair of brace hung on my car wingmirror when I came to leave.  We ate a lot of pheasant, pusscat had the best of scraps  , I even used to make pheasant sandwiches  - and I got quite good at gutting.  Less good at plucking, it's a different ball game with a well-hung bird.  I learned the plucking and jointing later, when I had a friend with spare cockerals...

[MelRice]

We lived before on a road where there were a lot of road kill phesant ( one car dead no problem..two car leave it for the fox) I used to pick them up and "peel" them rather than pluck. You could see where the car had been easier. They made great game pies and caseroles, yum (I miss them now)... ((kids used to think roadkill was a bit yucky but still enjoyed the finished dish))

[Miss Piggy]

Thanks Sally, what a good idea, got lots of friends nearby but none with cockerals. There is a local poultry market a few miles down the road though where cockerels go for peanuts.  Anne

[little blue]

like MelR, I prefer peel to pluck....

[manian]

hi
when we did our first chickens, from collection to finnshed plucking was an hour!!
it does get easier  (and quicker) and i found i am actually better at plucking than OH 
Mx

[SallyintNorth]

The trick with plucking is do it warm - as soon as the bird is dead, if you can. Otherwise you can dunk the bird in a bowl of warm water.  If the bird is warm and you pull with the direction of the feathers they come off really easily.

With a well-hung pheasant, plucking is not easy.  I would always peel unless I am determined to roast the bird, in which case I think you need the skin on.   I suppose you could always use strips of bacon if you have peeled and want to roast.

[Miss Piggy]

Cheers Sally thanks again. Maybe have a go at both plucking and skinning, not the same bird and see how I get on 

[nicandem]

Hello,
I have done plenty of game (pigeon goose pheasant partridge duck), but no chickens.
My rule of thumb is ...roast - then take time to pluck
stew/casserole/pie then skin/breast
saves a lot of time unlesss you are doing lots and then consider a plucker.  They can be had quite cheaply
eg.http://www.bushwear.co.uk/nostyles.php?ProductID=348302&ClassID=139

[Miss Piggy]

Thanks Nicandem for your reply, much appreciated. The plucker attachment looks very interesting, have you used one? Cheers Anne 

[nicandem]

I tried making one by using a metal tube and buying the 'fingers'
unfortunatly these are longer than the ones on that model and therefore go round much faster!
need a slower speed drill
however the feathers did come off.... but it was a snowstorm effect

[Fleecewife]

nicandem - you mention pigeons.  How do you draw them, being so small?  I have 9 young Scots Grey cockerels to do, not much bigger than pigeons, and can't let them grow any bigger as they are starting to get bolshy, but they will be too small for my hands (sturdy female size  )  Any hints and tips?  I have plucked lots of pheasants (etc)  as a child but my dad hung them for so long you just had to shake them - I always hated pheasant back then - far too strong, hung too long for me.  I always skin the young cockerels and in the past they have been big enough for me to just get my fingers in, but not this time.