MARKETING EGGS AND POULTRY 369 



of stick. Usually the bird is hung up on a level with the 

 shoulders of the operator. The head of the chicken is laid 

 in the left hand so as to have the comb down. The pressure 

 should be on the boney part of the head, not on the neck, 

 as pressure there will prevent proper bleeding. The bills 

 are held apart by inserting the first finger in the corner of 

 the mouth. The knife should be sharp pointed, about 2 

 inches long and a fourth of an inch wide. The blood vessel 

 is first cut on the right side of the roof of the mouth at the 

 neck where the bone of the skull ends. 



The brain stick is necessary where the fowls are to be dry 

 picked. This is to "loosen up" the feathers. After cutting 

 the artery the knife is quickly inserted in the brain through 

 the groove in the roof of the mouth. This paralyzes the 

 muscles and makes dry picking easy, but it must be done 

 before the muscles contract. The picking commences im- 

 mediately after the brain stick is made and even before the 

 fowl dies. 



Picking. The breast feathers are first picked, then the 

 long tail feathers and wing feathers. The picking must be 

 done quickly when the feathers come off easily. Care, of 

 course, must be taken not to tear the skin. After the rough 

 picking comes the pin feathering. This is done sitting, 

 with the chicken on the knees. It is necessary to use a 

 knife to catch all the small pin feathers. 



This method of killing and picking requires considerable 

 practice to be able to do it at a profit. In commercial estab- 

 lishments expert pickers kill and dress in this way as many 

 as 100 fowls per day. 



Cooling. When picked they should be immediately put 

 into cold water for about an hour. This removes the 

 animal heat and improves their keeping quality. It also 

 gives them a plumper appearance. They should never be 

 packed until the animal heat has been removed. 



