The Columbus journal., 1894-12-19
Dressing and Shipping Poultry.


In the first place, poultry should be
kept without food twenty-four hours;
full crops injure the appearance and are
liable to sour, and when this does oc-
cur, correspondingly lower prices must
be accepted than obtainable for choice
stock. Never kill poultry by wringing
the neck.
To DRESS CHICKENS Kill by bleed
ing in the mouth or opening the
veins of the neck; hang by the
feet until properly bled. Leave
head and feet on and do not remove
intestines nor crop. Scalded chickens
sell best to home trade, and dry picked
best to shippers. SO that either manner
of dressing will do if properly exc
cuted. For scalding chickens the water
should be as near the boiling point as
possible, without boiling; pick the legs
dry before scalding; hold by the head
and legs and immense and lift up and
down three times: if the head is i'm
mersed it turns the color of the comb
and gives the eyes a shrunken appear
ance, which leads buyers to think the
fowl has been sick; the feathers and
pin feathers should then be removed
Immediately very clearly. and without
breaking the skin; then plump by
dipping ten seconds in water nearly or
quite boiling hot, and then Immediate
ly into cold water; hang in a cool
place until the animal hea: is entirely
out of the body. To dry pick chickens
properly. the wOrl, should he done
while the chickens are bleeding: do
not wait and let the bodies get cold.
Dry picking is much more easily done
while the bodies are warm. lie care
full and do not break and tear the skin.
To DRESS TURKEYS.-ObServe the
anne instructions as given for prepar-
ing chickens. but always dry pick.
Dressed turkeys, when dry picked. al
ways sell best and command better
prices than scalded lots. as the appear
ance is brighter and more attractive.
'EndcavOr TO market all old and heavy
gobblcrs before Jan. l.. as after the
holidays the demand is for small, fat
hen turkeys only. old Toms being sold
at a discount to
Ducks AND GEESE-Should be scalded
in the same temperature of water as
for other kinds of poultry. but it re-
quircs 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
steamirg, but they must not be left in
this condition long enough to cook the
flesh. DO not undertake to dry pick
geese and ducks Just before killing for
the purpose of saving the feathers, IS
it causes the skin to become very much
Unframed and is Z great injury to the
sale. DO not pick the feathers off the
ihead: leave the feathers on for two or
three inches on the neck. Do lot
SINCE the bodies for the purpose OF re-
moving any down n hair, as the heat
from the flame will give them an oily
and unSiShtly 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, poul-
try 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
ECO lbs are preferable, and pack
snugly; straighten out the body and
legs, SC that they will not arrive very
much bent and twisted out of shape;
fill the packages as full as possible to
prevent moving about or the way; bar
relS 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 cover