CHAPTER VIII. 



KILLING AND COOLING. 



Kill the Squabs in the Morning when their Crops are Empty 

 — ■ Not Necessary to Use a Knife, their Necks may be 

 Tweaked — Drive the Animal Heat out of their Bodies by 

 Hanging them from, Nails — The Ideal Squab when 

 Shipped has an Empty Crop, its Feet have been Washed 

 Clean, and No Blood Shows — Sorting Squabs so as to Get 

 the Highest Price from the Dealer. 



The time to kill the squabs is in the morning, when the 

 crops are empty. In killing them it. is not necessary to use 

 a knife. Hold each squab in the manner shown in the 

 illustration and break the neck with a sudden pull and push. 

 Do not pull too hard or you will sever the neck from the body. 

 Some of our customers have hard work to get this knack of 

 tweaking the necks and prefer to wring the necks, or to use a 

 knife. To wring the neck, hold the squab by the head in 

 the right hand and throw the body around in a complete 

 circle, this act twisting and breaking the neck. -^' 



After the squabs are killed they must be cooled. In other 

 words the animal heat must be driven out of their bodies. 

 Provide a piece of board or studding eight or ten feet long and 

 every four inches along this studding drive a couple of nine 

 penny wire finish nails close together, but not so close that 

 you cannot squeeze in the legs -of the squabs. A finish wire 

 nail has no large head like an ordinary wire nail. Suspend 

 the studding from the ceiling by means of wire adjusted at 

 both ends of the studding. This method of hanging it up is 

 to prevent rats and cats from climbing up onto the studding, 

 walking along it and eating the squabs. Place the feet 

 of the squabs between the wire nails and let them hang down- 

 wards over night. In the morning the heat will be all out of 

 their bodies and you can pack and ship them. If you are 

 delivering plucked squabs to market, you do not need such 

 an arrangement, but will throw the bodies into a tub of ice 

 water (or cold spring water) after you have plucked them. 



When plucking the feathers from the killed squabs, the 



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