When we first moved out to the country to "homestead," we were really "green." We didn't have all the equipment or "tools" to make our work easier. Tractors, manure spreaders, plows, haybines, hay rakes, hay wagons, 2 bottom plow, disc, drag....it goes on and on. We did work out bartering with our neighbors and went to alot of auctions thru the years. We still don't have everything we could use out here. One thing we do have is a chicken plucker. When we first started to raise chickens, cornish cross meat breed, you could have them commercially butchered for $1 each. Now many places that use to process chickens no longer do so, due to laws and regulations in processing. The one place left charges $2.50 each. That cut into our profit too much, so we quit raising birds for resale only for ourselves. We are not opposed to trading chickens for something else. Breaking no laws that way.
My husband, Al, is very handy. He can build and fix just about anyting. Well, he saw an ad in the Countryside magazine that sold plans to build your own chicken plucker. It is called the Whiz Bang Chicken Plucker (YouTube has many videos). We use a propane turkey fryer to keep the water hot for "scalding" before putting them in the plucker. Works super! Cleans them nicely and very fast!
We did process 33 roosters. I didn't realize we had that many. Some were small because they were old english game cocks. I bagged and sealed them with my Food Saver Vaccum Sealer.
We never butchered a black rooster before, suprised at the skin color. These will be excellent for pressure cooking and making soup, stew or chicken dumplings.
A part of homesteading is herdsmanship. Management of a flock and making use of each and every "bounty" God provides is biblical.
That's an amazing chicken plucker - had to come over and see it when you left the comment. Thanks for sharing where you got the plans!
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