TURKEY RAISING 



people, dresses out into a nice plump yellow carcass. Most 

 of the markets at the present time demand dressed tur- 

 keys to be picked clean, although there is a considerable 

 demand for birds in which the largest feathers after the 

 flights are pulled, that is, the flight coverts, have been left 

 on the last joint of the wings. This demand has grown 

 up from the custom of cutting off the last joint of the 

 wing and using it for a brush about the kitchen. 



There is also a very limited demand for turkeys to be 

 marketed with the feathers on. This is true especially 

 with large toms. These birds are utilized for hanging 

 out in front of restaurants or retail shops. If the turkey 

 grower makes any effort to dress turkeys for the market 

 he should get in touch with the dealer through whom he 

 expects to market in order to learn what the preferences 

 are with respect to the manner of dressing. 



Fattening Turkeys 



The usual custom in fattening turkeys for the market 

 is to begin to feed them heavily about November i. The 

 results of this are not the best. Beginning to feed heavily 

 at this date without accustoming the birds gradually to 

 the heavy feeding is likely to cause scours or bowel 

 trouble with the result that the birds get out of con- 

 dition and do not fatten as well as expected. Another 

 difficulty caused by the heavy feeding at this time is 

 the prevalent custom of using new corn. If the birds 

 are gradually accustomed to new corn they can be fed 



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