110 PIGEON RAISING 



head unpicked. Care must be used not to 

 break the skin. If the bird is well fattened the 

 skin is not easily torn. The process of tweak- 

 ing the neck also stretches the neck so it is 

 not easily torn. If killed with the killing knife 

 it is best to attach a weighted wire in the mouth. 

 These wires are six inches long, hooked and 

 pointed at the upper end, and weighted at the 

 lower end with a piece of lead the size of a 

 small walnut. 



As soon as the first man finishes killing he 

 starts in to pluck out the pinfeathers from those 

 " rough picked " ; in this operation a small knife 

 is useful. As he finishes each bird he washes 

 out the mouth and the feet then plunges it 

 into a tub of clean cold water to remove the 

 animal heat and to make the flesh firm and 

 plump. 



As soon as the second man has finished 

 " rough picking " he turns in to help the other 

 man do the pinfeathering. Together they take 

 the birds from the water and hang them up 

 for five minutes to drain. By the time the 

 last is hung up the first are ready to pack. In 

 this way two men have handled ten dozen birds 

 in from four to five hours. 



No matter how the birds are shipped it is a 

 distinct advantage that the market stock should 



