POULTRY CULTURE 



from a beam, and a hook with a weight attached, inserted in the upper mandible 

 before the stick is made, prevents struggling. This method is also used in 

 what is known as string picking, in which the bird is picked while suspended 

 instead of being placed on a bench or held on the knees of the picker. 



Methods of making the stick vary slightly, the object in all cases being 

 the same, to penetrate the brain and paralyze the bird (causing the feathers to 

 loosen so that they are easily removed), and to secure free bleeding. The method 

 may perhaps be best described as a stab to the brain, well back in the roof of 

 the mouth (the thrust cutting crosswise), then a twist of the knife to bring it into 

 position, and a slit forward the entire length of the roof of the mouth. Skill 

 in sticking depends first on acquiring the knack of it, and then upon practice. 

 Even a good sticker does not always make a good stick. Diagrams are some- 

 times given to illustrate the 

 cut, but it is to be doubted 

 whether they are of any real 

 assistance, for it is the sense 

 of touch, more than any- 

 thing else, that regulates 

 the movement of the knife. 

 The sticker knows when 

 he has made his thrust right 

 by a peculiar shiver which 

 the bird gives and which 

 he soon learns to recognize 

 by touch. He presses the 

 knife to the brain until he 

 feels this, then turns it and 

 cuts forward to give the 

 blood free vent, being careful all the while not to cut through to damage the 

 outside of the head and, perhaps, his fingers. When the bird is to be dry 

 picked, the removal of the feathers is begun at once, the object being to have 

 it picked quite clean before bleeding stops. When the bird is to be scalded, 

 bleeding should be finished before scalding is done, or the heat may bring the 

 blood to the skin and coagulate it there, spoiling the appearance of the carcass. 



Scalding. This process is used much more extensively and with 

 more satisfactory results than would be inferred from a perusal of 

 most of the special articles and pamphlets on the preparation of 

 poultry for market. It is the easiest way to remove the feathers. 

 When properly done the scalded bird presents none of the defects 

 of poorly scalded poultry, and can be distinguished from the dry- 

 picked bird only by experts. Done carelessly or by one who does 

 not understand it, scalding usually results in spoiling the appear- 

 ance of every bird put through the process. 



'FiG. 322. How ducks are handled when one man 

 kills and scalds 



