Poultry Plucker Electric Motors

On a poultry plucker the electric motor turns discs with rubber fingers or a drum; the scalded bird’s feathers are removed by the rubbing of these fingers. A drum plucker for farms and small slaughter rooms has one motor; on an inline plucker in a poultry plant, each row of fingers has its own motor, giving 4 to 12 motors on one machine. Maker catalogues list 0.37–4 kW for drum pluckers and 1.5–3 kW per motor for inline machines. The scalder blower and the overhead line drive unit are motors of the same section.

DRG Motor is a manufacturer, supplier and seller of electric motors. We do not sell pluckers, scalders, overhead lines, fingers and discs, gearboxes or drives. What we provide here is the three-phase induction motor driving the discs, the blower or the line chain; you can review the models on the Buy Electric Motors Online page.

The defeathering section and its motors

On a poultry slaughter line, birds are hung by their feet on shackles and carried by a ceiling chain. After stunning and killing, each bird passes through the scalder: hot water loosens the feather roots and air blown into the tank stirs the water so every part of the bird is heated. Then comes the plucker, followed by the finishing plucker and the hock cutter. The overhead line runs through all these sections and has drive motors of its own.

Drum plucker

In a drum plucker, birds are dropped into a drum lined with fingers; the bottom disc spins, the birds tumble against the walls and lose their feathers. The motor sits under the base and turns the disc by belt or directly. Many farm and small slaughter room models are sold with 220–230 V single-phase motors. Larger drums use three-phase motors: one maker’s sheet gives 2.2 kW for an 800 mm drum and 3 or 4 kW for a 950 mm turkey drum.

Inline plucker: disc groups and one motor per group

In an inline machine, birds pass on their shackles between two facing cabinets. Each cabinet holds rows of finger discs stacked one above the other, and the discs counter-rotate. On one machine each row is driven by two motors through gears; on another, each row has its own motor with endless belts. One plucker therefore carries 8 or 12 identical motors, and a fault on one stops only that row. Cabinet height and angle are set to bird size, while the motors sit in closed housings behind the cabinets.

Scalder and overhead line

In the scalder, the motor turns a fan that blows air to stir the water; some scalders use a circulation pump instead. One sheet sizes the air blowing system at 0.3 kW per effective metre of scalder and installs 2 × 2.2 kW. In the overhead line drive unit, the motor turns the sprocket or wheel that pulls the chain through a gearbox; line speed is set to the kill rate with a drive. Where a brake motor is specified for the line drive, we have no product for it; that type is not in our range. For fan and pump motors, see also the Fan Motors and Pump Motors categories.

How many kW for a poultry plucker motor? Catalogue values

A) Motor powers written in makers’ sheets and offers for the machines of the defeathering section:

From this table, the defeathering section uses about 0.37–4 kW per motor depending on maker and capacity. Drum machines have one motor; on inline machines the value is per motor and the machine total rises to 12–26.4 kW (from 4 × 3 kW to 12 × 2.2 kW). As capacity grows from 1,500 to 3,000 birds per hour, the number of motors and finger discs increases while the single motor stays in the 1.5–3 kW band. The scalder blower and line drive are auxiliary motors and are not added to the plucker’s power.

B) Overlap with the DRG range: the whole 0.37–4 kW span is in our range; aluminium 71 for 0.37 kW and 90L–112M frames for 1.5–4 kW. What does not overlap is not power but supply type: the 220–230 V single-phase motors of small drum machines are outside our range. On such a machine, moving to a three-phase motor is possible only if the site has a three-phase supply and the switch and control circuit are changed; the conditions are in this comparison of supply types.

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Worked example: current and start-up plan of the defeathering section

First let us test the scalder blower rule from the sheet: effective length 15.08 m at 0.3 kW per metre → 0.3 × 15.08 ≈ 4.52 kW; the 2 × 2.2 = 4.4 kW installed on the sheet matches this value. Then take the defeathering section of a 2,000 birds per hour line with counterparts from our range (the 2-pole blower motor is an assumption; the actual speed comes from the fan maker):

At full load the section draws about 51.7 A, of which 36.2 A is just the plucker’s eight motors. The real point to watch is starting: a 2.2 kW motor’s direct-on-line peak is 4.52 × 7.6 ≈ 34.4 A. If all eight start together, the peak is about 275 A; starting them a few seconds apart keeps each step to the peak of a single motor. The overload, fuse and contactor tool helps with contactor and overload selection.

Keeping a spare for identical motors

On an inline machine every row motor has the same power, speed and flange. This makes spare parts planning easier: with one identical motor on the shelf, a faulty row is changed quickly. When choosing the spare, note power and speed, flange or foot size, shaft diameter and key, and belt pulley diameter from the existing motors’ plates.

Wet environment and motor location

The defeathering section is the wettest part of the slaughter line: the machine sprays water constantly, and feathers and hot steam spread everywhere. The motors we supply for this section never touch the bird; they are ordinary IP55 industrial motors whose frames are painted cast iron or aluminium. On the plucker they sit in the closed housing behind the cabinet, on the scalder on the fan stand outside the tank, and on the overhead line in the drive unit near the ceiling. When the room is hosed down each day, the motor housings are kept out of the jet and the gland and terminal box cover remain shut. For applications that require a stainless steel motor in an unprotected, directly washed area, there is no match in our range; ask us first about such a layout.

DRG motors for poultry processing

Models matching plucker, scalder and line drive powers:

Row motors on pluckers are linked by belt or gears, so foot-mounted (B3) or flange (B5/B14) motors are common; on the line drive the motor sits on the gearbox with a flange. Our 2-pole 11 kW model is also in the table for pump-driven auxiliaries such as crate washers. Every motor we offer for poultry lines is three-phase and can be chosen with 2, 4 or 6 poles. Photograph the old motor’s plate, flange or foot side and shaft end and send them with the machine details; we check suitability together on that basis and do not promise exact fit without dimensions.

Live price table

Prices of models at powers suited to poultry machines come from the store:

DRG MOTOR motors are guaranteed against material and manufacturing defects for 2 years from the delivery date (warranty certificate).

Motors in this power range

• DRG-802-4 – 0.75 kW – 1420 rpm – 80 cast iron
• DRG-90L-4 – 1.5 kW – 1445 rpm – 90L cast iron
• DRG-100L1-4 – 2.2 kW – 1450 rpm – 100L cast iron
• DRG-100L2-4 – 3 kW – 1450 rpm – 100L cast iron
• DRG-90L-2 – 2.2 kW – 2895 rpm – 90L cast iron

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Browse the products, ask for a quote: suitable motors for your plucker are on the Buy Electric Motors Online page. Drum or inline, how many motors, and a photo of one plate: that is all we need on WhatsApp. Phone: +90 (542) 666 11 11.

Frequently asked questions

Which motor goes on a drum poultry plucker?

A motor with the power and speed on the old plate. If the machine is single-phase and the site has no three-phase supply, the motors in our range are not suitable.

Do plucker motors need a drive?

Not if disc speed is fixed by design; sequential starting is usually enough. Line speed, on the other hand, is usually set with a drive.

Where are poultry plucker motor prices?

The live table on the page fetches store prices for models from 0.37 to 11 kW.

Phone +90 (542) 666 11 11 · e-mail info@drgmotor.com · contact.