10 BULLETIN 467, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



The color of poultry flesh, or at least of chicken flesh, may be 

 influenced by the feed. Certain methods of feeding, for example, 

 are based on the fact that milk tends to bleach or whiten the flesh. 

 This matter of color bears little relation to real table quality or nutri- 

 tive value, and would not need attention except that some markets 

 sometimes demand white and others yellow flesh. These differences 

 are probably the result of old local customs and are fast disappearing 

 now that local-grown poultry is rarely the sole source of supply. 



HANDLING AND DRESSING POULTRY. 



The way birds are treated from the time the producer considers 

 them ready to be disposed of until they are cooked has almost as much 

 influence on their table quality as their earlier care and feeding. Suc- 

 cess in this later stage depends on controlling the changes which take 

 place in the flesh after the birds are killed. 



Different methods prevail at different times and places, but how- 

 ever the poultry is handled, cleanliness should be insisted upon every- 

 where, for both table quality and healthfulness depend upon it in 

 large measure. Dirty pens and runs lead to disease while the birds 

 are alive. After they have been killed cleanliness is equally impor- 

 tant, for unless rooms, tables, tools, water, hands — in short, all the 

 articles which come in contact with the birds — are kept in good con- 

 dition, the flesh is likely to become infected with microorganisms 

 which cause decay and so injure its appearance and flavor. From the 

 point of view of the consumer, dirt in connection with food which is to 

 be cooked is perhaps less dangerous than with something to be eaten 

 raw, but it is nevertheless disagreeable. Moreover, dirt is rightly 

 considered a sign of poor quality in any food material, and it is only 

 just that poultry which shows the marks of careless handling should 

 bring a lower price than clean, attractive-looking birds. By insisting 

 on cleanliness in the poultry and in the markets, the public can help 

 more than is sometimes realized in improving commercial methods, 

 and dealers who try to keep a high standard feel encouraged when their 

 patrons show an intelligent appreciation of their efforts. 



MARKETING POULTRY ALIVE. 



In the North and West poultry is almost always marketed after 

 killing, but in the South the old custom of marketing birds alive is 

 still common. Birds sent to market alive should be humanely treated. 

 Too close confinement, lack of water, etc., are needless cruelties and 

 injure the appearance and quality of the birds for the table. The 

 purchaser of live poultry often feeds it carefully for a short time to 

 bring it into good condition. 



