

PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 179 



for shipment. The room should be well lighted and may 

 well be located contiguous to or near by the cold storage 

 compartment or cooling room. It should not be far from 

 the headquarters or office. 'It ought to be capable of 

 easy and thorough ventilation and must have an abund- 

 ant supply of water. The loft of the house in which the 

 killing and picking is done may be used for the drying 

 and storage of feathers, the storing of shipping crates, 

 etc. Before killing, the fowls should be starved for 

 twenty-four hours, to empty their crops and reduce the 

 contents of their intestines. 



KILLING FOWL. 



The fowl to be killed should be suspended from 

 hooks or nails so as to be at the right height for easy 

 operation. The two legs have each a cord attached by 

 a loop which is readily slipped on or off over the foot 

 and at the other end a hook or loop is attached to the 

 nail above. 



The head of the fowl is held in one hand and a 

 sharp pointed knife in the other. The fowl is bled by a 

 quick cut across the roof of the mouth back where the 

 arteries enter the head. A thrust is then made through 

 the natural slit in the roof of the mouth into the bird's 

 brain. Next attach to the lower mandible a little pail 

 having a narrow mouth and provided with a wire hook 

 for attaching to the bill through its middle. 



PLUCKING. 



If picked dry the feathers should be stripped from 

 the fowl's body as quickly as possible after the brain is 

 pierced by the blade. A box or barrel for the large wing 

 and tail feathers and another for the soft feathers should 

 be placed handy. A basin of water near by may bs used 

 to wet the fingers if necessary. 



The large feathers may be torn out first^#and then 

 the feathers along the breast, base of wings, neck and 

 legs, where the skin of the fowl after picking presents 

 a somewhat rough or "goose flesh" appearance. These 



