470 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



shoiiM lie dry-iiicked and graded to size. Turkeys and ducks 

 should be picked clean except where special markets tlesire 

 it otherwise. 



Geese should be picked clean. They should weigh 10 

 pounds or over and be of good quality. Under tliat weight 

 they are likely to be very red-skinned or dark-colored when 

 dressed. Geese should be packed as soon as properly cooled. 

 If left exposed to the air they take on an oily and disagreeable 

 a])pearance. 



Different classes of chickens are frequentl}' dresserl in 

 some special style, as leaving certain of the wing feathers 

 on fowl. Such a means of dressing acts as a means of quick 

 identification of certain classes of fowl not readilj' distin- 

 guished from other classes by the unskilled purchaser. 



Feathers. — A by-product of dressing any class of poultry 

 is feathers. There is ready market for all prime feathers 

 that have been ])roperly cared for. As will be seen by the 

 cjuotations given below, white feathers are by far the most 

 valuable. They should therefore be kept from the colored 

 feiithers, and wing and tail feathers should be kept from the 

 body feathers and may be sacked at once. Body feathers 

 should be placed in bins to dry and forked over every few 

 days to keep them from matting. Duck and geese feathers 

 bring a much higher price than the other classes. 



Comparative Prices per Pound on the Different Classes of Feathers. 



(iousu. ... Pure white feathers . . $0 SO 



Good average white ,70 



Largely gray ... .GO 



Largely gray, scah-li-d .40 to .45 



Long goose-quills . . .10 



Duck Pure white feathers .... .60 



Stained and scalded wliite . , .40 to ..50 



Dark ... .... ..5S to .40 



Dark, scalded ... ,3,5 



Chicken.. .Body, dry picked, all white . .2.5 



Body, dry picked, dark . . 0(5 



Damp, scalded, musty or very quilly .02 to .02\ 

 Hackles (no quills) . . .15 



Rooster tails, long fancy (free from stiff 



feathers) ...... . 1.00 



