Anyone Can Build A Whizbang Chicken Scalder

Book excerpt: Small-farm and backyard poultry producers will be interested in a new publication from Whizbang Books. Anyone Can Build A Whizbang Chicken Scalder, by Herrick Kimball provides complete instructions for transforming a common 40-gallon propane water heater into a high-efficiency chicken scalding device.According to the author, his scalder design allows a person to select the exact water temperature they want, and the units controls will automatically maintain that temperature within 4°. The result is a precision scald that translates into fast, clean, and easy feather plucking.The Whizbang scalder is attached to a wood framework with wheels. So it can be easily transported by one person. The frame also supports a dunker mechanism that will hold three chickens at a time and can be operated by hand or with a motor. When motorized, the auto-dunker will process up to 120 chickens per hour.Kimball says the Whizbang scalder can be built by anyone who knows how to use basic carpentry and mechanical tools. The estimated cost to construct the scalder, framework, and a manual dunker, using all new materials, is around $675. A used water heater and some resourceful scrounging will significantly reduce that price..The Whizbang Scalders tank is sized to handle chickens only. But the same state-of-the-art temperature controls, coupled with the burner from a salvaged water heater, can be employed to heat a tank with turkey capacity. This option is discussed in the final chapter of the book.About The Author:Herrick Kimball, of Moravia, New York, is a homesteader and grassroots inventor who has been raising and processing his own poultry for the past six years. He is the author of "Anyone Can Build A Tub-Style mechanical Chicken Plucker."