SUCCESSFUL POULTRY KEEPING 



the demand. Capons always are dry picked. The feathers 

 should be left on the neck from the head two-thirds of the way 

 down to the. shoulders and likewise on the first two joints of the 

 wing. The feathers also should be left on the tail and half 

 way up the back, and on the legs from the knee joint two-thirds 

 up the hips. In fact, only the feathers around the body itself 

 are removed, and there is less shrinkage in dressing capons than 

 in any other class of poultry, the only loss being the blood and 

 the body feathers. Care should be taken to keep the capon 



DRESSING ROASTING FOWLS 



Feathers fall to the Hoor, and are swept up constantly, dried, and sold, 

 being a source of considerable revenue. The five men shown at the table 

 have dressed 700 fowls in one day. 



clean, and paper should be wrapped around the head to prevent 

 it from soiling the plumage of other birds when they are packed 

 in boxes. 



BROILERS 



Nearly all the broilers are shipped dressed, as the trade 

 is conducted only in cold weather, and is at its height from March 

 to June. Those who make the largest profits, however, en- 

 deavor to place the birds on the market as soon after the first 

 of January as possible. From the latter part of November 

 until after New Year's the bulk of the demand is for large fowls 

 for roasting and frying, but after the holidays broilers come to 

 the front. Some of the largest growers find a steady demand 

 every week in the year, by contracting to furnish a stated supply 

 to large hotels or restaurants, or to dealers who handle the 

 best class of stock. For the live poultry trade, chickens averag- 

 ing a pound each are in greatest demand early in the year. 

 These never sell for less than $3 a dozen, and often bring nearly 

 a dollar apiece. The prices decline gradually after the first of 

 March, but remain high until well along in the summer. Ten 

 dollars a dozen often has been paid for live one pound birds in 

 February. 



After April 30th, most of the chicks are sold by weight, 

 and hundreds of thousands of broilers are reaching the dealers 

 by that time. The advice of the largest commission men is: 

 Hatch broilers early. November is not too soon to begin, and 

 the first shipped bring the fancy prices. In May it is best to 

 send broilers weighing one and one-half to one and three-quarter 

 pounds, which are worth $6 to $7 a dozen. 



Broilers should be dressed in the same way as chickens. 



ROASTERS 



The raising of "soft roasters" has become an independent 

 industry, and properly prepared birds weighing more than six 

 pounds being in great demand from the first of January until 



the middle of the summer, and again from September on to 

 Thanksgiving. These command prices almost as high per 

 pound as broilers, and are simply young birds, generally from 

 six to nine months old — put through a special fattening process 

 to make them plump and tender. They are dressed, dry-picked, 

 wrapped in parchment paper and packed a dozen or a half dozen 

 in a box. The supply of these usually is contracted for, and 

 comparatively few are found in the open market. From 20 to 

 35 cents a pound is paid throughout the season. 



SHIPPING DRESSED POULTRY 



[^i ■ Even though a bird is properly dressed, it will reach market 

 in bad shape unless care is taken in packing it. Fancy stock 

 always sells better when shipped in neat boxes holding one or 

 two dozen birds each. 



The dealers have agreed on certain sizes of boxes for differ- 

 ent grades of stock, and these only should be used. Basswood 

 or any other material except cedar may be used for the boxes; 

 cedar taints the flesh. Each bird should be wrapped in parch- 

 ment paper, which makes it keep longer; ordinary butchers or 

 wrapping paper, on the other hand, hastens deterioration. Two 

 layers of fowls are put in a box, six facing one end and six the 

 other. The regulation box for broilers is made of J inch lumber, 

 and is 16 by 16 by 4 inches, inside measure. This will hold a 

 dozen birds. Care should be taken to assort each lot so that the 

 broilers put into each individual box are nearly uniform in size, 

 color"^ and, weight. Lots should range from 15 to 18 pounds per 

 dozen, or 19 to 22 pounds, or 23 to 26 pounds. These average 

 ranges of weights follow naturally as the season advances. The 

 largest broiler dealer in the West says: "Boxes should he paper 

 lined, at least, and each broiler should be wrapped in paper if 

 the shipper wants appearance to count in the disposition of his 

 stock. Buyers like to see broilers packed breast up. All culls 

 and off stock should be packed separately and so marked. 



For roasting chickens the inside measurements of the box 

 is 18 by 8 by 30 inches. This will hold twenty-four roasters, iij 



DRESSING FOWLS IN A LARGE CHICAGO ESTABLISHMENT 



The men work at tables and each dresses his own fowl. They strip 

 the bodies first, then the legs, and then the neck. Machines do not work 

 well on scalded poultry. These men are members of a union, and make 

 good pay. 



two layers. Uniformity in size, color and weights of roasters 

 packed in each box is absolutely necessary for attainment of the 

 best results. A good three-layer box is 24 by 18 by 12 inches, 

 but the two-layer package is most favored by the trade. 



For adult fowls the standard box is 20 by 18 by 12 inches. 



160 



