560 HOW TO KILL CHICKENS. 



HOW TO KILL CHICKENS. 



There are various ways of killing fowls. One is to give a 

 sharp blow with a small but heavy stick, just behind the neck, 

 about the second joint from the head, which, if properly done, will 

 sever the spine and cause immediate death. Another is to wring 

 the neck, which is effectual because it breaks the neck. The French 

 method is to pull the joints apart, taking the head in the right 

 hand, the left holding the neck with the thumb at the back of the 

 head. Cutting the throat involves no pain beyond the insertion of 

 the knife. The bird should be hung by the legs head downward. 

 A long, narrow sharp pointed knife is then thrust through the back 

 part or the roof of the mouth, causing instant death. 



To Secure Plumpness After Killing Pluck the 

 fowls immediately after killing them, while they are warm. They 

 should be scalded by dipping an instant into boiling water. -This 

 process will make the birds look plump and nice. They should not 

 be drawn until the day they are wanted, as they will keep much 

 longer in this way. 



TO RAISE FOWLS PROFITABLY IN LIMITED 



SPACE. 



The advantage of an extensive territory over which fowls 

 can roam, picking up grubs, worms and earth, is well-known, and 

 its desirability is such that many believe fowls cannot be raised 

 profitably otherwise. This is not altogether correct, as the breeder 

 or producer can supply any deficiency in this regard and give his 

 fowls all the advantages desired in this respect, by observing the 

 following simple expedient. 



Let mm build a pen or rack, say four feet square, by timbers 

 nailed together and set upon the ground, the sides being slatted by 

 narrow strips nailed to the frame, with a space of six or eight inches 

 between. Inside this frame prepare a compost bed of earth, manure 

 and mill-sweepings, shorts or bran, placing first a layer of two or 

 three inches of manure ; then a layer of earth or rich loam ; upon 

 this a layer of the mill -sweepings, each the same thickness, and 

 continue thus till the rack is filled. This bed will be the constant 

 breeder of meal-worms and grubs, which naturally seek the light 

 and coming to the edge of the rack will become the prey of the 

 fowls, which will pick at the compost bed for this food, and thus 

 get the richness which comes from it. In this way fowls will thrive 

 as well as if they had the privilege of an extensive run. 



Continuous Laying 1 ' Secured Hens supplied in this 

 way will lay all the year round in many instances, and the profit 

 thus simply and cheaply attained will be much larger upon the 

 money invested than relatively on that expended upon extensive 

 breeding farms. 



