Pluck Around: Processing That Respects the Animal

For Derek Lampert, of Mossyrock, butchering is so much more than bringing an animal’s life to an end.

It’s about communities. It’s about the food chain. It’s about providing people with another link in the farm-to-table food movement.

“A lot of people are into the beyond organic food movement,” Lampert said. “People want to know where their food is coming from.”

Plucking your homegrown carrots from your garden might be an easy task. But for many, dressing an animal you raised is a bit trickier. 

Lampert said he has met many people who have told him they would like to raise chickens but don’t because they don’t want to be the one to end their animal’s life. 

That’s where Lampert and his girlfriend, Uriah Markholt, saw a niche for their new business, Pluck Around. The custom poultry processing business will come to your home or farm and prepare poultry in large or small numbers.

 “A lot of people are uncomfortable with that part, the processing, but it’s where our meat comes from,” Lampert said.

Lampert and Markholt live and work at Salmon Creek Meats in Mossyrock, which is owned by Markholt’s family. Lampert grew up in an agricultural area and had been exposed to the realities of farming life for many years. But he said when he joined Salmon Creek Meats two and a half years ago, that was when he first experienced how to properly process poultry.

“It’s as stress-free as possible for the birds,” Lampert said. “They don’t know what’s going on.”

“We say they have one bad minute in their life and then it’s over,” Markholt said.

Lampert purchased a mobile poultry processing unit from Mississippi company Featherman Poultry Equipment. The one-man operation can be brought on-site pretty much anywhere and can be used to dress all poultry, including chickens, turkeys and water fowl. Lampert said by himself he can process 300-400 birds in a day, but said has talked to people who want to hire him to dispatch only a handful of animals as well. No matter the job, he said, the goal is to create an alternative to the large scale poultry raising and processing to which many people object.

“When you go out to someone’s place, they’re proud of their birds and they put a lot of time and effort into raising them,” Lampert said. “You want to show respect for the product and respect for the animal.”  

One of the highlights of Lampert’s setup is a 70,000 BTU scalding tank, heated to 155 degrees, that is used to remove feathers. Lampert said feather removal can be one of the hardest parts of processing if you don’t know how to do it correctly.

“There’s a real science behind it,” Lampert said. “You want it hot enough to make the feathers fall off but too hot and you scald the skin.”

When he begins officially processing poultry in May, Lampert said, Pluck Around will have the ability to set up a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected area for poultry processing on site, which is helpful for larger scale growers who would like to market their birds. He said the licensing was a little extra effort but it was worth it for him because he believes in neighbors feeding neighbors.

“If I offer a service that allows someone to get their hands on a bird their neighbor grew, that’s awesome,” Lampert said.

Lampert said he expects Pluck Around’s main customer base to be in Southwest Washington but said he is willing to travel pretty much anywhere he is needed. 

He charges a flat $99 setup fee for anyone within 100 miles of Mossyrock and then another $10 for every 25 miles past that. Lampert is now taking reservations for May through September, which he said are likely to be his busiest months as poultry processing is a seasonal business. He said he is excited to begin his new venture, not just because he hopes the business will be successful but because he believes it will be beneficial.

“Since they now have a processing option, I’d like to think I’ve opened the door for people to be more self-sufficient,” Lampert said.