The Wilmington morning star., 1940-01-15
QUALITY POULTRY
EASILY MARKETED
MANY N. c.. Farmers Fail 10
Finish And Market Their
Chickens Properly
BY II. T. BROWN

Quality poultry products can be
readily marketed Wien quality poul-
Try is grown. The breeding, feeding,
and management have a lot to do
with the quality OF the birds to be
marketed. However, many North
Carolina poultry raisers are pro-
ducing nice quality poultry but are
failing to finish and market it prop
erly so as to realize the highest
profits out of the sale.
In the case of broilers, fryers,
and roasters, the chickens that are
grown out fast on a high quality,
balanced feed are far superior mar
ket birds to those grown out gu the
range with limited, unbalanced feed
ing, which results in slow develop
ment. The meat of slow-growing
birds is tough, stringy, n Of a
poorer flavor, while those birds
grown out rapidly are more fieshy
and tender with abundant flavor.
Even hens and male birds from a
Weli-fed flock make far su, erior
market birds to those from a poorly
fed flock.
In marketing live poultry in this
state, our growers, in many in
stances, feed their birds heavily on
grain just before they sell them
to car or truck buyers. When that
is done, the birds are likely to lose
weight if the dealer holds them in
close confinement for a few days or
q week or two as is sometimes the
case. Such stuffins with grain pre-
vents the birds from eating nor.
mally of the soft feed used for fin
ishing market bird, hence, a result
ing loss in weight. This reduces
the profit for the dealers, and they
in turn pass the loss on to the
poultry producers in lower prices
next time or prevent prices from
rising when otherwise they nor
mally would.
Different colored birds should al
ways be cooped separately and SO
far as practical the different size
and different quality birds also
should be cooped separately. Never
sell thin or poor quality birds On a
select market. If the birds are very
thin. they should be destroyed
rather than sold.
1t is satisfactory to range fat
ten or pen fatten birds to be sold
alive by feeding extra grain for two
or three weeks before marketing,
but the ones that are to be shipped
or sold alive should never be crate
fattened, or the shrinkage will be
unusually heavy. Crate fatte2ing
consists of combining the birds to
crates or coops with six to ten
birds to a section, and for 10 to Ia
days, feeding a mixture containing
buttermilk and ground grains mixed
to a consistency to pour from a pail.
1t is usually not advisable to try to
fatten hens if they are in good
flesh, but underweight hens can
often be improved considerably for
market by crate %fattening if they
are to be slaughtered Immediately.
How To Improve Quality
The quality of dressed poultry
can be improved considerably If the
birds are properly starved just be-
fore slaughtering and the dressing
is carried out correctly. Birds TO be
slaughtered should not be given any
grain for the last "a to 48 hours.
Even soft feed should be withheld
for at least u hours before slyugh-
tering, but they should have p'enty
of water until the last, SO as to
empty the crop and intestines OF all
food before dressing. This improves
both the keeping qualities Of the
carcass and the flavor.
There is no great advantage In
dry picking chickens as in the case
OF turkeys. Chickens may be scald-
picked or semi-scald picked. In the
ase Of either scald-picking, or semi
scald picking, the same as for dry
picking, the most satisfactory way
to kill the birds is to hang them up
by looping a cord around both legs
n hanging the bird head down at
q convenient height for picking.
The head is grasped in the left hand,
mouth opened, and the jugular vein
in the throat just below the base of
n skull is cut with one slash OF a
sharp, narrow-bladed knife. This in.
duces free bleeding which results in
q carcass more pleasing in appear.
ance and less likely to spoil quickly.
After the jhgular vein is cut. the
back lobe of the brain should be
pierced by the point Of the knife
being forced through the groove in
the roof Of the mouth. If dry nick
ing is practiced, the bird should be
picked Immediately after the brain
is pierced, pulling the wing and
tail feathers first.
The usual Scald method of pick.
Ing consists Of allowing the bird to
hang until thoroughly bled out and
then taking it down and while hold-
ing the head and feet, plunge into a
tank Of water which is kept at a
temperature Of about 1870 degrees f..
The bird is soused around to per.
init the water to penetrate through
the feathers 10 the skin, but should
be scalded only long enough to
make the feathers pull easily. The
feathers should be removed as rap
idly as possible. In order to get
the water the proper temperature
for scalding a good rule to follow is
to add one quart of cold water to
each gallon of boiling water. If ex-
tremely hot water is used, the skin
and flesh will become partially