The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-07
rChickens'

For "a hours before killing all food
should be withheld. This will prevent
food from remaining in the intestines and
crop, especially the latter, which would
ferment and spoil the flavor of the birds.
Several hours after the last feed allow
the chickens all the water they wish to
drink, after which they should have a
complete fast until killed.
The best method of killing is by stick
ing in the throat All stock should be
CRY picked as described by Professor
Stoneburn in recent article in this series.
After being dressed the carcasses should
be placed in the shaping board or frame
shown in the illustration. This consists
of series of troughs arranged IN ladder
form. as in the picture Each trough is
made of smooth boards inches wide.
Shaping the Carcasses
The shaping is done by bringing the
feet close to the breast, thus drawing
the legs up parallel with the body. The
bird is then set squarely in the trough,
back up, head to the front, and a brick
laid on top. The trough must be tightly
packed with birds in order to secure the
best results. This pressing not only gives
them a plumper, chunkier appearance,
but forces the bases out of the intes.
tines and thus insures better keeping
qualities. The carcasses should remain
in the shaper until thoroughly set, at
least six hours.
All dressed poultry must be thoroughly
cooled before shipping. This means the
removal of all animal heat. The penalty
of disregarding this essential point will
invariably be exacted in the form of dis
Colored and spoiled stock.
The cooling should be done in a reason
ably low temperature, but one which is
well above the freezing point. When
chickens are exposed to freezing before
well cooled the surface quickly freezes,
| forming a solid layer. through which the
internal heat escapes. but slowly. This
frequency causes q sort of internal de-
composition which renders the flesh unfit
for use
Perhaps the most satisfactory shipping
packages are clean, paper-lined boxes
holding one dozen birds each. The method
of packing Is clearly shown in the photo
bearing the legend. Fat Chickens"
These boxes should be built in standard
Sizes each to hold IL birds of uniform
weight and each should be labeled with
the number and weight of the birds
packed therein, for the convenience of
the dealer.
This, In brief, is the method of fleshing
and marketing table poultry which has
practically revolutionized the industry in
Canada during the past few years. The
essential points are covered herein,
though many of the minor details are
omitted because of lack of space. These
less important points can be readily work.
ed out in practice.
The profits one may reasonably expect
to secure from this speciality when oper-
ating in small way cannot be exactly
stated. Local prices of live chickens and
feed vary, as we'll as quotations on
dressed stock However, we can say that
crate-feeding not only adds flesh econom-
icaly. but increases the value of every
pound of the entire carcass.
Where farmers handle this work they
usually consider that the labor cost is
offset by the value of the droppings,
whic hare particularly good for fertilizer.
IN Canadian markets at this writing
lean chickens are worth from 10 to 10
cents per pound. and crate-fed stock,
from Is to % cents. This clearly shows
a good margin of profit and indicates
that the producer can we'll afford to spend
little more time and labor in crate
feeding his market birds in order to Sc
cure the resulting higher prices