The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-01-24
HOW TO DRESS AND SHIP POULTRY.

act Observation-Disclosures Farmer.
HOW TO DRESS AND SHIP POULTRY.
In the first place, poultry should be
kept without food twenty-tour hours' )
full crops injure the appearance ana are
liable to sour, and, when this does occur
correspondence rteee must De ac-
s;s':s ST.; N N I|ii s. 6 8 !
neck; hang by the feet until properly
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 will do, if properly
executed. For scalding chickens, the
water should be as near the boiling
point as possible, without boil.
ing; pick the legs dry before
scaldlngi hold by the head and
legs and immerse and lift up and down
three times; ii the head simmcrsed it
turns the color of the comb and gives the
eyes shrunken appearance, which leads
buyers to think the fow. has been sick
the feathers and pin feathers should then
be removed Immediately, very cleanly,
and without breaking the skin; then
plump by dipping ten seconds in wa.
ter nearly or quite boiling hot, snd then
Immediately into cold water; hang in a
ly out. TO dry-pick chickens properly,
the work should be done while the chick
ems arc bleeding; 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 chick
ems, but always dry-pick. Dressed tur.
keys when dry-picked, always sell best
and command better prices than scalded
lots, as the appearance is brighter and
mere attractive.
Ducks and geese should be scalded
in the same temperature of water as for
other kinds of poultry, but it requires
moro time for the water to penetrate and
loosen the feathers. Some parties ad-
wise, after scalding, to wrap them in
blanket for the purposes Of etcaming, but
they must not be left sih this condition
long enough, 10 cook esh, Do not
undertake. tczdl ors ducks
just before killing 34E A. purpose of
saving the feathers, a tit causes the skin
to become very much inf1amed, 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 the bodies for the purpose
of removing any down or hair, as the
heat from the flame will give them an
oily and unsightly appearance. After
they are picked clean they should be
held in scalding water about ten seconds,
for the purpose of Pumping, and then
rinsed off in clean cold water. Fat,
heavy stock is always preferred.
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 100 to 200
pounds are preferable, and pack snugly;
straighten out the body and legs SO that
they will not arrive bent and twisted out
of shape; fill the packages as full rs pos
sible, to prevent moving about on the
way; barrels answer better for chickens
and ducks than for turkeys and 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 covcr.-Fdrm, Field and
iStOckmdn.