Duck plucker reviews please

[jnicholson]

I'm interested in getting an electric feather plucker. My boys helped me out several day this year but I think I'd just as soon get a machine. Plucking a whole honker by hand and dipping in the turkey fryer is just a chore that I'd rather not do anymore. We'd definately dip more geese if it weren't for the plucking.



Please share if you own one ... pros and cons on the small inexpensive ones and the deluxes.

Maybe some one has one they want to trade or give me ?

John

[Moe]

I have a Duck Naked picker. You have to pre-pick the birds a little but it does a good job on ducks. Unfortunately the geese require a little more work. Once you get to the down on the geese it will do the rest of the job. I've never seen a duck picker that could do a honker from scratch even at the commercial pickers at Tule Lake.

[Chesapeake]

John,

Google Wizbang plucker.

I've always wanted to build one, and even rounded up most of the parts, but never got around to it. You seem like a Do-it-Yourself type of guy.

You might also look at building yourself a drum type plucker. You could get the shivs, belts, ect from Parkrose. Strombergs sells the rubber fingers. I cant imagine it would take 1/3 the $400 price tag of the new ones to build one yourself.

Just a thought.

[Snug 2]

I also have the large Duck Naked plucker. It sits on top of my burn barrel. I have NO problems with ducks, but geese are a pain, and basically not worth the effort. If you get one, pluck the birds before you cut off wings and legs. If there are exposed wing bones, be careful. They can hook the rubber fingers and rip them off the drum.

Here's a photo of the plucker set up. Again, I do not use it on geese anymore.


I scald all my geese and pluck by hand and get very nice results.

All in all, I am happy with it. If I shot more ducks than geese I would be even more happy (hear me Skip?).

[nunyet]

Originally Posted by Snug 2

I also have the large Duck Naked plucker. It sits on top of my burn barrel. I have NO problems with ducks, but geese are a pain, and basically not worth the effort. If you get one, pluck the birds before you cut off wings and legs. If there are exposed wing bones, be careful. They can hook the rubber fingers and rip them off the drum.

I scald all my geese and pluck by hand and get very nice results.

All in all, I am happy with it. If I shot more ducks than geese I would be even more happy (hear me Skip?).

Snug after doing the mallards on your plucker my friend got one just like it, like you say works great on ducks. Tried it on pheasants and quail but it is kind of ruff on them.

Leaving for a warm place to chase bone fish in the morning , be back to finnish out the bird season. If the ducks are still around I,ll drop you a note.
Been trying to get GRB over also but weather has been tuff.


nunyet

[Snug 2]

Skip,

Have a great trip south. I am heading to the farm on Thursday to hunt geese for a few days again.

AL

[jnicholson]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

John,

Google Wizbang plucker.

I've always wanted to build one, and even rounded up most of the parts, but never got around to it. You seem like a Do-it-Yourself type of guy.

You might also look at building yourself a drum type plucker. You could get the shivs, belts, ect from Parkrose. Strombergs sells the rubber fingers. I cant imagine it would take 1/3 the $400 price tag of the new ones to build one yourself.

Just a thought.

OMG Rick,

I googled and then Utubed it because I thought it was a joke at first!

My wife will think that's the most Red Neck thing I could possible have around the house ... I think I'm going to have to build one. Ha, the boys and I will have a blast throwing ducks and geese into that!

Hmmm ... I wonder why I can't find any ducks being tossed into those things?

John

[jnicholson]

Any ifishers out there use or make this whiz bang plucker?

Don't be embarrased, I've got to make one of these things

[Chesapeake]

Originally Posted by jnicholson

OMG Rick,

I googled and then Utubed it because I thought it was a joke at first!

My wife will think that's the most Red Neck thing I could possible have around the house ... I think I'm going to have to build one. Ha, the boys and I will have a blast throwing ducks and geese into that!

Hmmm ... I wonder why I can't find any ducks being tossed into those things?

John

This is what the guy who wrote the book says:

Chickens ... And Beyond!
The Whizbang Plucker will pluck turkeys, ducks and geese too. It will pluck turkeys almost as well as chickens. It does ducks fairly well. Geese are more of a challenge. But ducks and geese do not pick as well as chickens and turkeys in any mechanical plucker. This isn’t to say they don’t pluck well, they just don’t pluck AS well.

I was going to build the plucker for geese, ducks and pheasant. One of these days I'll get it done.

[Rbogus]

Looks kind of good and fast.
Duck Naked Plucker

[Threemuch]

We have a plucker at my club. I don't know the brand but its a beast. It is the rotating drum with rubber fingers kind. It works pretty well for ducks who aren't molting. As mentioned with others pluckers, geese are just a pain. It takes FOREVER to do a goose. And it pretty much enlarges any holes in the skin.

It's pretty messy too.

What I do like it for is cleaning divers. I can defeather a divers breast and then cut it off and then cut the meat off the skin.

[billc_sbio]

I went and watched those videos...

Careful! If the Cops see you throwing birds in one of those Whizbangs, they're liable to take you away in cuffs!

Also on the Whizbang What The Hey is with that? Those chickens have MOST of their feathers off before they ever throw them in there!

O.k., I have a Duck Plucker, bought it back in the early 80's after I had to come back from a killer weekend of shooting limits of Mallards and Honkers.

I had some "mad money" that I was considering either buying a new shotgun OR a Plucker with.

After that long night of plucking there wasn't any "or" left over about it...it was a Plucker all the way.

The one I bought is called a Magna-American "Duck Stripper".

It's pretty much like that Duck Naked picker in the other video, except it's enclosed and has strong vacuum suction that deposits all the feathers and down into a large poly seed bag.

With it I can do a large Mallard and get it as smooth as a baby's a** in about 2 minutes.

The Plucker housing is too small to accept anything bigger than small Geese, but I've done Cacklers on it o.k.

The company that makes mine (was a Roto-Tiller company back in the south) went out of business probably 15 yr.s ago. But I have a couple of other friends who have the same model and we all love our's!

As some others have mentioned, there are "tricks" to making them work well, specifically they do not pluck WET (or bloody) feathers well. They also won't touch pinfeathers.

The wet feathers part, well you just have to take a blow dryer and dry out the feathers before you can pluck the bird well. When you realize this, you'll make an effort (given the option) to keep your birds dry(er).

Also, sometimes you can run the bird on the plucker and it will take out some of the feathers. The wet feathers then remaining are easier to blow dry or just allow to air dry, then once dry, the plucker plucks them fine.

On the real bloody feathers, well that's just around pellet holes for the most part, and you just pull those by hand.

If you're like me and you pluck your Ducks (I don't always), you start out strong, but by the 5th (or 13th) one you're starting to slow down pretty badly.

Plucking a limit in ~20 min. total using the plucker makes it a LOT easier.

BTW, while what I have is no longer made. It wouldn't be too hard to fabricate (assuming you're "handy") something like this. It just uses a simple frame and an electric motor connected to a Forge Blower turned around backwards to suck the feathers from the housing and blow them into the bag.

[arkansasbasser]

We used to have a woman that would clean all our ducks and keep half. She and her family needed them more than we did. Worked out pretty good for us and her. They were ready for the freezer when we got them back.

[chukarchaser]

Originally Posted by jnicholson

Any ifishers out there use or make this whiz bang plucker?

Don't be embarrased, I've got to make one of these things

Yep... not at all embarassed to say I've recently used one of these things to pluck 20 meat chickens we raised. It is nothing short of amazing! A neighbor built it himself and he offered to help me butcher my chickens. After a short dunk in hot water we threw the chickens in the whiz-bang and turned it on. No more than 10 seconds later the feathered chicken looks like a rubber chicken.... not a feather left!


CC

[gotZem]

I tried one of "the Plucker" table- hooked to your 3/8 drill model. You know, the inexpensive one! WOW!! Plucked OK but the feathers were- well lets just say- all we needed was some tar!! The neighbors didn't like us too well either! Hard to "contain" I'd say would be the best way to put it. Sounds like the Chicken Machine is "improved" compared to the table- drill model.

gotZem!!!