138 



MARKET POULTRY 



of the arteries allows the fowl to bleed freely from the 

 mouth. To avoid being splashed with blood, the mouth 

 of the fowl should be held away from the operator. 

 This method of killing is commonly practiced in most 

 market poultry establishments. 



Plucking. To make the best appearance when offered 

 for sale in the market, a fowl must be plucked carefully 

 so that the skin will not be torn. An experienced plucker 

 will rub the feathers down the wrong way both on the 

 back and breast, using the flat of his hand to press 

 down and open up the plumage. When the feathers are 

 separated in this way they 

 may be quickly plucked 

 from the body by holding 

 the shanks and the tips of 

 the feathers in the hand. 

 The feathers should first be 

 pulled from the back, then 

 from the breast and body, 

 leaving only the long, stiff 

 feathers. These should be 

 plucked and placed by them- 

 selves. The best plan is to 

 put the long feathers or 

 those having heavy quills 

 into a box or barrel separate 

 from the smaller or lighter 

 feathers. With some prac- 

 tice the operator will soon learn to remove all of the 

 feathers quickly from the body of the fowl. The process 

 should begin immediately after the fowl has been killed. 

 By whatever method it is killed, the feathers will come 

 away easier immediately after killing than they will 

 after the body of the fowl has cooled and become set. 



The practice of scalding before plucking is generally 

 followed. The chief difficulty in this is that the fowls 

 are dipped into water that is too hot and are frequently 

 kept immersed so long that the skin is scalded and 

 breaks and pulls from the body, leaving an ugly dark 



