pin feathers

[ydalhsif]

we butchered 9 last week and had a lot of pin feathers that i couldnt get off. i gave up and have speckled looking skin on them. i didnt want to skin them because we like the skin. i was wondering if there is a certain time to kill them where there isn t so many pin feathers? these were about 6mo old.

 

[ShadyHoller]

I can give you a very non-scientific answer. I'm sure others here will have more info.

The way I deal with this problem is: (1) I pick the bigger pin feathers with either a improvised pinning knife or hemostats; (2) we raise birds with white feathers and skin (DE x RIR crosses), and; (3) since the birds are just for our own consumption, and not for sale, we don't look extremely closely for stubborn remaining feathers, and we don't get too worried if we see one.

Again, that's not a very technical answer, but it works for us.

 

[Judy]

With birds like Barred Rock I found I could scrape the last of it out with my fingernail or the back of a table knife.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

about 20 weeks is when the start growing the hard to remove "hairs" that's why so many like to butcher younger than that.

 

[soap&eggs]

did you burn 'um ? i burn with blow torch..singeing off what i missed hand plucking. later after ice water soak & detail cleaning if i find a feather or two..get what i can..once frozen & thawed for cooking i will find one or two.seem easier to remove then, then they were at butchering time.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I find that the pin feathers, the spikey new feathers, usually scrape off easily with a butter knife pushing against the "grain" of the feather growth. Especially if you've gotten a good scald on the bird. The hairs must be singed off with a flame, or just ignored.

 

[roco123]

Still new and learning, but with your problem of pin feathers, check into your scalding technique.

I have learned that water temperature and amount of time scalding can make all the difference in the world.

 

[ShadyHoller]

soap&eggs :

did you burn 'um ? i burn with blow torch..singeing off what i missed hand plucking. later after ice water soak & detail cleaning if i find a feather or two..get what i can..once frozen & thawed for cooking i will find one or two.seem easier to remove then, then they were at butchering time.

Oh, yeah, we do that too. I completely forgot to mention. (doh!) Just a quick singe from a plumber's torch and all of the little fuzzies are gone.​

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Certainly a good proper scald makes a huge difference in the ease of your plucking, here's some great info on how to do it well: http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-properly-scald-chicken-my-never.html I guess it also helps make it easier for those pinfeathers to pop out when you scrape the skin with a butter knife, don't know if an automatic plucker will get them out.