The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1898-01-14
Drsss,nr and Shipping Poultry.

chants, send us the following article
on dressing and shipping poultry for
the Chicago market:
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
occur, correspondingly lower prices
must be accepted than obtainable for
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 nor crop.
Scalded chickens sell best to home
trade, and dry picked best to shippers,
SO that either manner of dressing will
do ii properly executed, but as there
are but very few outside orders re-
of the year, we would advise shippers
to scald their chickens until after the
holidays. For scalding chickens, the
water should be as near boiling point
as possible, without boiling; pick the
legs dry before scalding; hold by the
head and legs and immense and hit
up and down three times: II the head
Is immersed it turns the color of the
comb and gives the eyes shrunken APP
the fowl has been sick: the feathers
and pin feathers should then be re-
moved 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 heat is entirely
out of the body. To dry pick chick
ems properly, the work should be 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. Be care
full and do not break and tear the skin.
To Dress Turkeys.-Observe the same
instructions as given for picking
chickens, but always dry pick. Dressed
turkeys, when dry picked, always sell
best and command better prices than
scalded lots, as the appearance is
brighter and more attractive. En-
deavor to market all old and heavy
gobblers before January l, as after the
holidays the demand is for small fat
hen turkeys only, old toms being sold
at discount to Gamers.
Ducbs and Geese. should be scalded
In the same temperature Of water as
for other kinds of poultry, but it re-
Qutres more time for the water to pen
citrate and loosen the feathers. Some
parties advise, after scalding, to wrap
them in blanket for the purpose of
steamtng, 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 kill
Ing, for the purpose of saving the
feathers, as it causes them to become
very much inflamed, and is a great in
jury to the sale. Do not pick the
feathers of the head; leave the feath-
ers 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 ap-
pearance. 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 al
ways 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
200 pounds are preferable, and pack
snugly; straighten out the body and
legs, so that they will not arrive very
mush bent and twisted out of shape;
fill the packages full as possible 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 package; mark kind and
weight of each description ons the
package and. mark shipping directions
plainly on the cover.-Farmers' Re-
view.
Farmers Bulletins on Dairying.
The department Of agriculture at
Washington will send free to farmers
upon application the following bulle-