You will be grateful for the Yardbird chicken plucker if you’ve ever suffered through manual chicken plucking process by hand.
This chicken defeathering machine is compact and simple to store and transport. Produced from weather-resistant materials, you can be rest assured that this unit will give you lots of service life.
The integrated irrigation ring comes with a standard connector for your garden hose.
The machine 110 natural rubber fingers removes grime and dirt on the chicken skin while the machine flushes plucked feathers from the drum.
Our Yardbird chicken plucker review reveals that it features powerful electric motor and is encased in a waterproof housing to ensure that the machine is completely is fast, effective, and maintenance-free.
Aside being compact and powerful, this chicken plucker boasts a simple debris collection feature where a feather chute deposits the plucked feathers in a bucket underneath.
This is an easy-to-clean machine that is long lasting and will perform beyond imagination for years to come.
You never need to put up with ugly looking birds with ruined skin and feathers sticking out of them even after plucking.
You also don’t have to spend time putting finishing touches or cleaning the bird after the machine plucking process has been done.
Highlighted Features
- Super easy to move around.
- Comes with natural rubber fingers
- Over easy to maintain and clean
- Offers plucking torque of 35 foot-pounds
- Efficient feather removal and debris collection
Table of Contents
My Story and Experience – Yardbird Chicken Plucker Review
I ordered and it got delivered two days after. Upon arrival, the driver pulled down a large box that weighed something close to 90 pounds.
I unboxed it, checked the condition of all parts and called my friend to come help me put it together. It was simple to assemble and it only took a few hand tools.
The weight and size of the motor was impressive and it took us 15-20 minutes to put the Yardbird Chicken Plucker Machine together.
I instantly fell in love with the solid rubber tires on it that made it simple to move around. The stainless steel construction of the tub was sturdy too.
We had 25 broilers who were already 6 weeks old and ready for slaughter so we got ready to put everything to test.
Last time we processed broilers, we used a homemade plucker and had feathers going everywhere—this was going to be different.
Setting up
The next morning, my friend and I got everything all set. We began heating up a 16-quart pot of water on top of the outdoor stove for scalding the chickens to ensure the feathers release easier.
Freezer bags, cutting boards, and a large cooler with ice were all in place. And of course, we had to get the Yardbird Chicken Plucker all set.
It needed a water hose and an electric hook up.
We were able to hook the handle directly to the Yardbird and still turn the water on and off without having to frequently go back and forth to the main shut off valve at the house because our long hose nozzle allows us to remove the tube with the spray head.
You too can get something similar by attaching a valve to the tub and then attach a garden hose. If a Y-valve is used, a second hose can be used to fill the scalding pot and for a wash down.
With all this in place, we were ready to begin. I set up our work area that included a small fenced yard nearby with shade for chickens to make it both convenient and comfortable for us.
My friend, Joe began by humanly dispatching the chickens. When 6 or 7 were done, we moved onto the scalding process once the water reached around 145°F to 155°F.
The Plucker In process
Now it was time to say what our high-tech Yardbird Chicken Plucker could do. I turned the hose on and flipped the toggle switch that starts the plucker.
It ran for a few seconds before shutting off abruptly. I thought we tripped a breaker in the house, but a quick check of the breaker box indicated that wasn’t the case.
My friend came over to take a look and discovered that the Plucker was on a slight downhill angle, and this was allowing water to run directly on the motor.
As a built-in safety measure, it shut off so we wouldn’t be harmed. Joe turned the machine around to allow the water to flow away from the motor, hit the motor’s reset button, and turned the Yardbird back on—it was working! It sounded fine, so we tried it out.
With the machine running fine and water turned on, we brought over the first 2 chickens. We dropped them in, and they came out perfectly, bring smiles to both of our faces.
We kept going and going, continuing to scald and pluck the rest of the chickens. Most of the wet feathers came out of the bottom of the machine in a neat pile, a nice contrast to our homemade plucker that left feathers everywhere.
Plucking the 25 birds that we processed went very quickly. Yardbird’s claims of plucking 2 chickens in 15 seconds seems to be true. I would say it was a great success, and Joe said it was “Chicktastic!”
At a glance
- Powerful, maintenance-free, 1-1/2 horsepower gear motor provides over 35 foot-pounds of torque
- Highly mobile
- Features solid rubber tires with ball bearing to make transportation easy
- Fast-release removable tub allows for easier clean up
- Built to last with its heavy-duty construction
- Plucks 2 chickens in 15 seconds to save time
- Built-in irrigation ring keeps both hands free to do other tasks
- 110 replaceable fingers pluck the feathers while washing dirt from the skin
And with that, we come to the end of our Yardbird Chicken Plucker Review. We hope to see you next time. Have a blast and feel free to share comments below.