MARKET POULTRY AND EGGS 



hundred pounds, by express, and considerably less by fast 

 freight. 



Tags with the name of the consignee and the shipper should 

 be attached to both ends of each coop so that if one is torn off 

 the other will remain. It is also advisable for the shipper to 

 stencil his name and address on each crate, to insure its return. 



Most of the live poultry is shipped from April to November, 

 the bulk of the supply in the winter months being sent dressed. 

 This is because of the fact that during hot weather poultry will 

 spoil unless carefully packed in ice, and many shippers find it 

 difficult to obtain clean ice at reasonable prices. In fact, the 

 poultry market generally is comparatively dull in the summer 

 months, the first touch of cold weather adding several cents a 

 pound to the prices. 



DRESSING CHICKENS 



Dealers everywhere give notice that all poultry should be 

 well fed and watered and then kept from 18 to 24 hours without 

 food before killing. Stock dresses out better when it is well 

 watered and appears much brighter. Full crops injure the 

 appearance of the bird and the contents are Uable to sour. When 

 this happens only low prices will be paid. 



CAR LOADED WITH POULTRY 



One of the special poultry cars loaded with live fowls .destined for the 

 large city markets. 



Kill chickens by bleeding in the mouth or opening the 

 veins of the neck, and hang by the feet until properly bled. Leave 

 head and feet on and do not remove the intestines or crop. For 

 scalding chickens the water should be near the boiling poiiit 

 but not boiling (160 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit). Pick the legs 

 dry before scalding; hold by the head and legs and immerse and 

 lift up and down five or six times; if the head is immersed it 

 turns the color of the comb and gives the eyes p, shrunken ap- 

 pearance, which leads buyers to think the fowl has been sick. 

 The feathers and pin feathers should then be removed immedi- 

 ately while the body is warm, very cleanly and without break- 

 ing the skin. Next "plump" by dipping ten seconds in water 

 nearly or quite boiling hot, and then immediately into cold 

 water. Hang in a cool place (or better place on shelves in the 

 shape you wish them to appear when cooled — hanging draws 

 the breast muscles and makes them look thinner when cool and 

 harder to pack) until the animal heat is entirely out of the body. 



To dry pick chickens properly, the work should be done 

 while the chickens are bleeding; do not wait and let the bodies 

 get cold. Dry picking is much more easily done while the 

 bodies are warm. Be careful and do not break and tear the skin. 

 The plumping is very essential. Do not singe the bodies for 



the purpose of removing any hair or down, as the heat from the 

 flame will give an oily and unsightly appearance. Remove pin 

 feathers thoroughly, but if it is impossible to take them out 

 without tearing the skin cut them off with a sharp knife. Dry 

 picked poultry generally commands a higher price than scalded 

 stock, and is safer for shipment in warm or doubtful weather. 

 Scalded birds are less attractive than those dry picked, because 

 unless the scalding is done with great care and by an expert 

 the skin usually is discolored in places and becomes puffy after 

 a day or two. Chicago accepts both scalded and dry picked 

 stock, generally, however, paying a premium for the latter. 

 Boston insists on dry picked, and the better trade in New York 

 and other large cities will have nothing else. 



"Shaping" the birds is an essential to securing fancy prices. 

 This is done by placing them in a trough 10 inches wide, with 

 an angle of the opening about 70 degrees. The chickens are put 

 in the trough back down, and the fiesh is forced forward onto 

 the breast and the whole body made compact. This will make 

 even a scrawny bird look plump and a fine one will undergo a: 

 great transformation. On top of the trough a thin board is 

 placed and on this a weight. After the fowls have been in the 

 shaper a few hours and all the animal heat has disappeared 

 they are ready for packing. It is important that the bird be 

 thoroughly cooled before shipment, and if ice is placed on the 

 chickens in cooling them — ^which is inadvisable but sometimes 

 necessary in hot weather, — all the moisture should disappear 

 before they are removed for shipment, unless the birds are to 

 be shipped in ice. Do not cool the fowls too rapidly. 



DRESSING TURKEYS 



Kill in the same manner as chickens, but drjrpick while the 

 turkey is bleeding. Do not wait until the body gets cold. Be 

 careful not to break the skin and do not remove the head. 

 Markets differ as to whether the neck and wing feathers should 

 be left on, but most require that they be untouched. The tail 

 feathers come off with a twist; a straight pull will "set" them. 

 All old and heavy gobblers should be marketed before January 

 1st, the demand after the holidays being for small, fat hen tur- 

 keys. From the middle of October to the first of the year is 

 the best period for selling turkeys, although early in the season 

 there is a great demand for "baby turkeys," as they are called, 

 which weigh about five pounds apiece and bring high prices — 

 sometimes as great as a full grown turkey would fetch later in 

 the fall. 



DUCKS AND GEESE 



When not dry picked, scald in the same manner as chickens, 

 but remember that more time is required for the water to pene- 

 trate and loosen the feathers. Do not try to pluck the plumage 

 just before kiUing for the sake of securing a higher price for 

 the feathers, as this gives the skin an inflamed appearance and 

 causes injury to the sale. Leave the feet on and do not pick 

 the feathers off the head; also leave the plumage on the neck 

 for 2 or 3 inches. Do not singe the bodies, as this spoils their 

 appearance. After they are picked clean the fowls should be 

 held iuTscalding water ten seconds, for plumping, and then rinsed 

 off in clean, cold water. Fat, heavy ducks always bring by far 

 the best prices, and it does not pay to ship thin birds as they 

 can be fattened in two or three weeks and bring several cents 

 a pound more. 



CAPONS 



Only large, heavy fat capons are wanted. A thin capon 

 will bring no better price than an old roaster, but prime, fat 

 capons command the best of prices the year around and dealers 

 in every city complain that they cannot secure enough to supply 



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