The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1932-11-17
TURKEY DRESSING MEET
INGsS WELL ATTENDED,

The two turkey dressing meet
ings held in the county last Thurs
day, one at the III. Piert farm at
Finley and the other at the Buena
Vista school atdProsser, were well
attended. Mr.. B. F. Patheal of
Richland who conducted the demon
stration on killing and dry pick
ing at both places and Mr.. Piert,
who conducted the demonstration
and killing and semi-scalding at
the Piert farm answered questions
of turkey growers who were pres
emit. Everyone seemed to have left
the meeting with a feeling that it
had been very much worthwhile
and these meetings should mean
that more birds in proper condi-
ton to kill and more birds that are
well dressed should go to market
from this county this year.
w. E. Starkey, manager of the
Yakima branch of the Washington
Cooperative Egg and Poultry AS
ISOLATION was present and discus
sed the general market situation
and the method by which the Co
OPP was taking care of the mar
keting of birds going through that
channel. He stated that while he
realized it was unsafe to predict
future prices that there was hard
ly anything in the situation now
which would warrant any grower
sending birds to market which are
not yet in prime condition to mar
ket the consequent drop in price
due to loss in grade, as compared
to what could be secured on the.
later markets.
Two new details in the dressing
of turkeys were brought out by
Mr.. Patheal this year which we be-
lieve was worth the while of any
of the older turkey growers who
were present. These were first, the
washing of the feet of the bird be-
fore it is hung up to be killed.
This saves handling the bird when
they are cold and difficult to ham
die and when the feet are stiff
and difficult to clean. A bucket of
water handy with a reasonably
stiff brush in the hands of the
killer will clean the feet in very
little time.
Second the leaving of the feath-
ers over the hips until toward the
last of the picking will save in
many cases more or less blood
shot looking condition of the thigh
and upper drum stick. For some
reason or other these feathers
when pulled before the bird has
been thoroughly bled seems to
draw into the feather folicle. If |
there are very many of these it
leaves a REDEEMED condition of this
part of the bird.
just to review very briefly who |
are going to be killing should
first be sure that the bird carries
plenty of flesh and fat, reasonably
free of pin feathers, that the birds
are not fed the night preceding the
day on which the birds are to be
killed but that they are giving
plenty Of water to drink. The house
or shed in which the turkeys are
shut up must be free of anything
that the turkeys might eat. Cases
have been reported to US that where
the birds have filled up on chips
and droppings and this of course
will leave the crop filled with this
material and the bird will be de-
cidedly off grade. Good bleeding
and proper killing, once the bird |
is in condition to kiln should make
it possible for the grower to dress
out high percentage of prime
birds providing one is careful in
the dressing and does not remove
q thin cutter skin called the bloom
and leave condition which is
called burn. Special precautions
should be taken to see that the
blood clots are removed from the
mouth So that the bird viii bleed
out completely.