Alder- we haven't ever seen a bird that couldn't be plucked, but we have a group of Amish women who do the butchering "professionally", and they have a huge drum plucker. They haven't ever complained, and even the old roos are nice and clean when they're done.

But- we don't eat them! I put them in the freezer for dog food, or can them up for dog food if the freezer is full. I feed our dogs mostly raw meaty bones (I'm not fanatic about it, and do keep a high quality kibble on hand for the times when the meat supply is low) And cutting them up to fit into the kettle or jars can be ROUGH- I've used pruning shears a couple of times!

We have plenty of nice, tender fryers and roasters in the freezer. The old hens make wonderful soup stock, and the meat makes great dog food.

Summerthyme