Milford chronicle., 1917-10-19

Each year in the poultry industry sees mani
fowls sent to market that spoil, become deae
loss, or present such an appearance that they art
practically unsaleabe or must be sold at com
paratively low figure
There is a cause for this condition, and unless il
is corrected your loss will be great. With no re-
Election on the middIe-man, or the fellow who
handles your birds when shipped. bear IN mind ne
loses nothing on your poor specimens-the burden
falls upon you as the shipper.
Many poutrymen who are engaged in the sup
plying of fowl meat for market are under the i'm
preston that fowls fowls. and for that reason
they take no particular care in how they are pre-
pared. This conclusion is reached after seeing
many specimens in many markets. The condlton
Of the birds show conclusively that the shipper
either knew nothing about how to prepare ms
fowls for shipment in order to get the greatest
returns for them. or else is an evidence OF indif-
ference to the matter.
If the first be true. then you should by all means
learn the art and govern yourselves accordingly,
while if it is due to the latter cause you should
get busy and give the birds some attention.
/ Shipping dressed fowls to market is a business
in itself and should be thoroughly understood by
those engaged in il, because, when properly done.
returns will be much greater than II the hap
hazard method be indulged in
The subject of preparing fowls for market then
! should receive much of the attention of the COM
mercial poultryman in an effort to increase his
profits.
In the preparation Of the birds. their packing
| loUms up prominently as one Of the more impor-
/ tant factors and this gives rise to the two meth
DDS dry and wet picking, Wet picking is FAR more
/ preferable to the man who aims to get out Of as
much work as possible, and for this reason many
adopt it, notwithstanding that it is in poor favor
with the consumer who must be looked 70 Tor
4 sales. The observant poultryman, however will
/ be quick to grasp the desires of the public and
adopt whatever method they might prefer.
| The method that is in highest favor with the
consumer is that of dry picking and thus in order
| to create demand for your fowls. and likewise
! highor prices this method should be adopted by
the breeder This method is likewise preferred by
the middle or commission man and thus the mar
ket conditions make it almost necessary for the
breeder to adopt the dry picking Of his birds IN
order that his product might find both ready
There are many persons, however, who have not
yet learned the art of dry picking at least those
who ship limited number Of birds 10 market
The large BREEDERS follow this method entirely
which should be proof enough that it is the better
one. Why let the big fellow get ahead Of you in
the matter of the conduct Of your business. What
benefits him surely benefits you. if you will but
take advantage of it. Them follow his footsteps
in the matter of dry picking and get more from
your business, as dry picked fowls viii always |
bring a higher price than those prepared by wet
picking.
Compare the two methods. or rather the results I
of the two and note the carcass Of the fowl that .
has been dipped into scadng water Immediately |
after life leaves the body, in order that the feath
ers might be more easily removed. The flesh will
soon lose its bright color and sweet. fresh appear
ance. il becomes a rather Door looking bird. that
has the appearance of having died Of some disease.
This change in appearance alone will greatly re-
duce the chances of its sale as it has for its char
acterstics torn and broken flesh. in addition to its
sicky look and the former results in its early de-
cay. Once the fowl starts to deteriorate it soon
comes under the ban Of the health officers and Is
consigned to the CAN"
Perfectly dry skin is protection against bae-
.eria. while wet and torn skins an aid. Such
condition is constantly inviting infection. Persons
luyinR fowls will invariably select those that have
dry skin. bright and inviting looking. rather
han the ones with dark purple tinge, which is Z
lways the case where the fowl is wet picked ,
his means a loss, not to the shipper Then, it
Eys to dry pick and you should follow the crowd.
OF course. wet picking is decidedly easier than ,
ry picking. at least at the start but when ence =
ou learn il, the diferenceis so slight that you will
ever think of it as extra labor. Some lay claim q
the fact that they cannot dry pick, and for this
eason follow the other method and lose money.
his is possibly true at the beginning but remem- o