Small-scale poultry processing equipment is available to rent from the Pierce Conservation District. From Featherman Equipment Company, this system is user friendly, makes processing delightfully speedy, and is simple to transport.  This equipment makes it possible to process anywhere from a small backyard flock of 5 birds to up to 200 birds an hour, depending on skill level and number of helpers.  Equipment available for rent includes the Featherman PRO plucker, scalder, dunker, shackles, kill cone stand, and 8 broiler or turkey cones.  Borrowers will need to provide: access to a power source for plucker plug-in, buckets, chill tanks, knives, meat storage bags, propane for heating scalding water, scrubbing brushes and dishwashing soap for clean-up, and a water hose.  Chicken and turkey units are available, however the turkey unit requires a 240 volt outlet.

One of the best attributes of the Featherman system is no more hand plucking! The Featherman PRO plucker is a plastic cylinder, resembling a washing machine basin with a spinning bottom. The sides and bottom of the plucker are lined with rubber fingers. Birds freshly dunked in scald water go directly into the plucker and feathers come off in seconds. For more information on how this equipment works, visit Featherman’s website for great demonstration videos.

Rental Information

Plan ahead and make reservations to rent in advance. At this time, we are suspending rentals to those outside Pierce County.  A similar program has proven very popular in Mason County, where poultry processing equipment has been available for rent from the Small Farms Program, which is run jointly by the Mason Conservation District and Washington State University. The Thurston and King Conservation Districts also offer poultry processing equipment for rental.

The poultry processing equipment is available to rent for $40 for a 1-day rental and $80 for a weekend rental and includes us of PCD's small utility trailer that the unit is transported on. PCD trailers require a 2" ball.  A $100 cleaning fee and/or late fee will be charged if the unit is not returned clean or on time.  To make a reservation for a unit, please fill out a reservation request form.

Poultry Processing Unit Request Form