Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1886-12-16
FOR POULTRY-KEEPERS.
The Best Ways of Dressing and Shipping
Chickens, Turkeys and Geese.

Chickens, Turkeys and Geese.
In the 6rst place, poultry should be
kept without food twenty-four hours;
full crops injure the appearance and
are liable TO sour, and when this docs
occur, correspondingly lower prices
must be accepted than obtainable fol-
choice stock. Never kill poultry by
wringing the neck.
To dress chickens, kill by bleeding
in the mouth or opening the veins OF
the neck; hang by the feet until prop
erly bled. Leave head and feet on and
do not remove intestines or crop.
Scalded chickens sell best to home
trade, and dry picked best to shippers,
so that either manner of dressing viii
do, if properly executed. For scalding
chickens, the water should be as near
the boiling point as possible without
boiling; pick the legs dry before scald-
ing; hold by the head and legs and inn
merse, and lift up and down three
times; if the heal is immersed it turns
the color of the comb and gives the
eyes a shrunken appearance, which
leads buyers to think the fowl has been
sick; the feathers and pin feathers
should then be removed Immediately,
very clearly, andswithout breaking the
skin; then plump" by dipping ten
seconds in water nearly or quite boil
ing hot, and then Immediately into cold
water; hang in cool place until the
animal heat is entirely out. To dry
pick chickens properly, the work should
be done while the chickens are bleed
ing; do not wait and let the bodies get
cold. .Dry-picking is much more easily
done while the bodies are warm. Be
careful and do not break and tear the
skin.
To dress turkeys, observe the same
instructions as given for preparing
chickens. but always dry-pick. Dr. ssed
best aad command better prices than
scalded lots, as the appearance is
brighter and more attractive. En-
deavor to market all old and heavy
gobblers early. After the holidays the
demand Is for small, round, fat hen
turkeys only, old Toms being sold at
discount to Gamers.
Ducks and geese should be scalded
in the same temperature of water as
for other kinds of poultry, but it re-
quires more time for the water to pen
citrate and loosen the feathers. Some
parties advise. after scalding, to wrap
them in a. blanket for the purpose of
steaming, but they must not be left in
this condition long enough to cook the
flesh. Do not undertake to dry-pick
geese or ducks just. before killing. for
the purpose of saving the feathers, as
it causes the skin to become very much
infiamed, and is a great injury to the
sale. Do not pick the feathers off the
head; leave the feathers on for two or
three inches on the neck. Do not SINCE
tae bodies for the purpose of removing
any down or hair, as tloe heat from the
flame will give them an oily and I'M
slightly appearance. After they are
picked clean they should be held in
scalding water for about ten seconds,
for the purpose of Pumping. and then
rinsed off in clean cold water. Fate
heavy stock is always 9referred.
Before packing and shipping, poultry
should be thoroughly dry and cold. but
not frozen; the animal heat should be
entirely out of the body; pack in boxes
or barrels, boxes holding one hundred
to two hundred pounds are preferable.
and pack snuglv; straighten out the
body ard lsgs so that they Will not ar
rive very much bent and twisted out of
shape; fill the packages as full as posi-
ble,o to prevent moving about on the
way: barrels answer better for chickens
and ducks than for turkeys or geese.
when convenient, avoid putting more
than one kind in a package; mark kind
and weight of each description on the
package, and mark shipping directions
plainly on the ezsicago Com
alerciai BuNetin.