CHAPTER IX 
POULTRY FLESH AND POULTRY FATTENING 
_ The poultry flesh which is used for food may be grouped 
into three divisions. 
First: Poultry carcasses grown especially for market. 
Second: Poultry carcasses consisting of hens and young 
male birds that are sold from the general farms where the 
pullets are kept for egg production. 
Third: The cockerels and old hens sold as a by-product 
from egg farms. 
The third class hardly needs our consideration in the pres- 
ent chapter. This stock, usually Leghorns, like Jersey veal, 
is to be disposed of at whatever price the market offers. 
The cockerel will, if growing nicely, be fairly plump and the 
hens, if on hopper rations of corn and beef scrap, will be 
about as fat as they can be profitably made, and to waste 
further effort upon them would not pay. Leghorn cockerels 
and hens are a wholesome enough meat, but will never com- 
mand fancy prices nor warrant extra pains. 
In class two we find the great mass of the poultry flesh of 
the country. This stock consisting chiefly, as it does, of Ply- 
mouth Rocks and Wyandottes, is well worth some extra pains 
toward increasing its quantity and quality. 
Within the last ten or fifteen years several changes have 
been brought about in the general methods of handling farm 
poultry. Formerly it was thought desirable to market all 
stock not kept as layers while in the broiler stage of from 1% 
to 2 pounds. Since the introduction of the custom of holding 
fall broilers over in cold storage, the price has fallen until it 
is now more profitable to market the surplus cockerels from 
the farm at three or four months of age. At this period the 
flesh has cost less per pound to produce than at either an 
earlier or later stage. For such purposes only the well fleshed 
type of American breeds has been found desirable. The Leg- 
horns and similar breeds are too small and become staggy too 
soon. 
Contrary to a common belief and to the custom in the poul- 
try books of classifying the Asiatics as meat breeds, the 
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