Clucker Plucker

By Jessica Cosmas, Artifact Collections Specialist

There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but how many ways are there to defeather a fowl?

Until the 1890s, the most popular method was to remove feathers from a bird was by hand. By the turn of the 20th century, however, machines designed to pluck poultry were beginning to appear. The time was the Second Industrial Revolution, roughly 1870 to 1914, and advancements in production technology were fostered by the extension of electricity, the emergence of assembly lines, and the introduction of rubber to industry.

PATENT FOR EARLIEST KNOWN PLUCKING MACHINE. I.G. MELLINGER, 1891. US PATENT 456,201.

Chicken Plucking Machine, Accession #2007.105.3b

Artifact photo taken by author.

The device that will be on display at MOA, however, is more advanced than its 19th century predecessor. See it, and learn more about the evolution of chicken plucking gear during the museum’s upcoming Clucker Plucker exhibition.