Thinking about building a "whiz-bang" bird plucker.

Anybody have experience with one of these?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/3/3-3/affordable-homemade-poultry-plucker.html

Interesting design. I worry about it ripping the birds up, though. You have no control over what's happening.

When I was growing up, we had a chicken plucker that was simply a horizontal drum with rubber fingers driven by a motor. Messy, but effective. Because you held the bird by the feet and wing, you had some control over the pressure you put on it.

The article speaks truth: the key to a good pluck is a good scald. Too little and the feathers won't let go. Too much and the skin is too soft and rips up.

I always figured that if I ever kept chickens again, I wouldn't bother with plucking, I'd just skin 'em. I mostly feed the skin to the dogs anyway.