The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1912-07-19

in the fowl, or that wrong method
has been used in cutting the blood
vessels in an attempt to empty them
The neck is the first part to dis
color, becoming first ned, then blu
ish red or purple, and finally green
as aging progresses. Often there
are discolored areas on the sides
of the neck close to the head which
look like bruises. These are COM
monty caused by the killer holding
the neck of the bird when cutting
the veins. and thereby preventing
the blood from escaping. Not only
are the results of bad bleeding OBJ
served in certain parts of the
body, but the clear, bright color Of
the flesh for which every poultry
dresser tries is never at its best un-
less the blood has been completely
drained out.
At least 80 per cent of all the
poultry is incompletely bled. Much
of 1t is so badly bled that 1t re-
suits in loss of from 2 to 5 per
cent pound, as compared with
the corresponding poultry which Is
well bled and in good order. Aside
from the bad appearance of incom-
pletely bled chickens, their keep
ing properties are very inferior.
The flesh loses its firmness soon
err; its flavor is not so good; the
odor of stale flesh and finally Of
putrefaction comes sooner; and IN
every way the product is more
perishable.
Study OF Blood Vessels OF Neck and
Head.
An anatomical study of the blood
vessels of the head and neck If
the chicken has been included in
the investigation of the handling
and marketing of dressed poultry
in order to determine the best me-
thods of bleeding and the reasons
for the incomplete bleeding which
is SO prevalent. Heretofore there
has been no description available
of the number and location of the
larger veins in the neck of chick
en-. This lack of knowledge has
resulted in much indiscriminate
hacking and gashing of the chick,
ems mouth, all Of which Is ire
ddently done to no purpose, be-
cause in spite of the many cuts
the large veins which carry the
blood often are not touched.
Cutting" to Bleed and "Sticking''
to Brain.
When the feathers are removed
by scalding, the bird is killed by
bleeding alone, hence the cuts to
sever the veins are the only onsg
attempted, and If the attempt fans
and bleeding will surely result. II.
on the other hand, dry picking Is
to be practiced, the birds are cut
to bleed and are also stuck through
the brain to paralyze the feather
muscles. The latter operation Is
sometimes performed by running
the knife under the eye at such an
angle that its point will touch the
skull midway between the eyes and
little behind them; or the brain
ing is accomplished by placing the
knife about halfway down the
groove In the roof of the chickens
mouth. and then thrusting 1t up
until the knife reaches the top OF
the skull. The knife, as in brain
ing under the eye, should touch
that part of the inside of the skull
which lies about midway between
the eyes The point of the knife
should then be moved backward
forward little. so that enough
brain tissue may be destroyed ITO
paralyze the bird, yet not enough
to kill 1t instantly II the out
side-stick" method is practiced prac-
tically no blood escapes. If, on
the other hand, Draining inside Of
the mouth is adopted, the blood
vessels in the brain which are cut
find an outlet for their contents
through the knife hole. Bleeding
from these vessels is, under any
circumstances and where the neck
vessels are missed the condition Of
the chicken is often greatly i'm
proved by the bleeding from the
brain.