The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-06-01
AT AN OSTRICH FARM.
PLuckING A CROP OF FINE FEATH-
ERs FROM THE BIG BIRDS.

1t Takes Three Men to Handle Ono Os-
trich-The Kick in Front.
y pluck at the Kenilworth ostrich farm
having hHen announced, n party of visitors
took the train from Los Angeles for the
scene of this unfamiliar form of harvesting.
The ostrich farm, which is situated about
seven miles northeast of Los Angeles, occu-
pies Il very pretty valley at tho foot of ono
of the coast ranges, not far from the Bur-
bank station, on the Southern Pacific rail
road
Th" ostrichcs are confined in number of
large corrals, i'll which the birds have FREQ
Room tn run about, scoop out their primitive
nests and make themselves generally quite at
home. -Four of these corrals are occupied by
pairs of full grown imported birds, at the
present time occupied i'll laying eggs In
other corrals arc young birds, natives of Cal
itornia, which appear to be quite as healthy
and promise to be as fine as their African pa
rents
AN EXCELLENT RUNNER
Plucking the birds is by no means Il light
undertaking. The one thing which makes
oStrchcs manageable Mt all is that they cam
n"i either fly or leap, or if they can they arc
not aware of their powers Hence an ordi-
=
,ircnt to continc birds standing, perhaps,
seven feet high, even when they are making
the most desperate efforts to escape from the
hands of their spoilers. But If they cannot
fly they can run and kick and IL kick from
one of their great strong legs isan experience
which nobody cares to try. Thus incatchmg
them it is always necessary carefully to avoid
getting i'll front of them, for they can only
kick straight forward.
When pluckins is to begin three men enter
the corral and approach the birds. They try
to get the one they wish to catch up into a
corner, but as the bird soon sees that his best
chance lies i'll keeping in the open, he races
down one side of the corral and then up the
other, making it appear as though it were an
almost hopeless task to catch him. lIisstri,lcs
are enormous, but his great feet and the mus
clcS of his thighs are so strong that he comes
along with an easy, springy gait, in which
very little is seen of the foolish awkwarlncss
which is the first characteristic to strike
strangers when they see tho bird at rest.
After several quite vain attempts TO reach
the bird as lie runs past, tho quickest of the
men throws himself upon ono of the hugo
wings, and the first time, perhaps finds him.
SELF sprawlins on tho ground with handful
OF broken feathers to reward him for his
pains. Soon, however, somebody is fortu-
nate enough to Scta good hold and bv the
tlmc he has been dragged half way round tho
inclosure the other two men also are to be
seen firmly attached to some part of the body
or wings of the bird. Then Il sack is RAPIDLY
produced from tho belt Of one of the men and
slipped over the head and long neck, at the
lower cnd of which it is loosely tied This
| greatly facilitates matters, and it is now no
very ~iilicult job to steer the strange looking
creature into corner of tho corral which has
been prepared for its reception. Hero the
fence has been strengthened with strong deal
boards, and another heavy board is all ready
To be swung around i'll such II way as To i'll
close the bird and his raptors in II small cor
| her, i'll which no great amount of struggling
is possible.
The first bird plucked was IN old male
Tho young birds for the first two years of
their life are all the same gray color, which
| the females continue for their lives, but the
males, after they are about 2 years old, be.
come very handsome. They turn quite black
thus making a very handsome setting for the
great white plunes which adorn their wings
and tails. Only the wing and tail feathers
ore pulled the curly. looking little tips on the
breast which arouse the cupidity of some of
the Indies being left untouched.
The three men who have hold of the bird
force him up tight against tho corner of the
inclosllre, and tho one of them who is doing
the puckng stands on the side away from
the wing on which he is going to commence
| operations. He Iaiscs the wing, and. draw
ing it toward him over the body of tho bird,
he selects the feathers which he considers
marketable, and grasping them one by one
firmly in his hand gives them good hard
pull and out they comc-iirst the great white
pllmcs, then the smaller whites, and then the
larger blacks
1t must be n somewhat painful operation
for the bird, as tho feathers huvc tight hold
and the wing bceds more or less at most
points from which several feathers adjoining
one another have been drawn. Every now
and then renewed struggle on the part Of
the ostrich, and an effort not always unsuc-
ccssful, to shake off the sack which is over
his head, bears witness to his not rclishinp
the situation
THE VALUE OF A CROP.
As fast as the feathers aro pulled and this
is done very quickly, they arc handed over
the fence to n man standing close by with n
box.
Meanwhile the two wings shave been pluckcd,
and the tail, which produces feathers shorter
than the best wing pluncs, but much wider
such as are used for the best tips Then the
sarl; is removed, and the board which inclosrs
the party having been swung back, the bird
is set loose, n queer, cilrtailcd looking mon
ster, shorn Of his glory, but probably in IL
day OF two much more comfortablc-in hot
weather at any rate-for being freed from
the burden of his great, heavy plumcs Care
has to be taken again, as the sack is srcmovcd,
that lie does not reward his tormcntnrs with
Il kick, which, if well delivered, would easily
break II bone, but his inability TO kick any
way except straight in front of him makes il
no difficult matter.
Then the chase is renewed, and the royal
consort is, in her turn, humiliatcd by having
her proud head cnvclopcd iii the sack, and so
the game goes on till all the birds which are
ready for plucking have been dealt with
1t is very hard work on Il hot day. as not
only have great agility and considerable
courage and perseverance to be displayed in
catching the birds, but even holding them in
the corner while the plucking is gong on in
wolves an almost continuous struggle more
or less severe. The operation takes perhaps
about twenty minutes for each bird after it
has been caught, and in this time some two
Hunurcu 10 t"o Huiiicu ana Hlty lcatherS OF
various sizes are pulled. Each bird is pluckcl
twice year, the pluncs requiring growth
of about seven months to reach perfection.
The feathers, if not rctailed on the premises
or in Los Angeles stores, are sold by weight
A short time ago they went as low as $50 IL
pound, but they are now going up tn. wear
ing of ostrich feathers il. hats having again
become fashionable A full grown bird will
give rather more than a pound of feathers
between his two plucks, but as they are vora-
"ious feeders there is not much profit to be
made out Of keeping them when feathers are
fetching low prices. They are fed mainly on
alfafn, supplemented by corn and almost any
vegetable food that comes handy.-San Fran
cisco Chronicle.
The Secretary Bird.