DUCKS AND GEESE 



product as it comes from the stuffer is cut into 

 noodles about 2^ or 3 inches long and these are 

 boiled for 10 or 15 minutes or until they float. A 

 wash boiler with a wire rack forming a false bottom 

 about li inches above the boiler bottom is used for 

 this purpose. When cooked the noodles are dipped 

 in cold water and then rolled in flour to keep them 

 from sticking together. A supply of noodles is made 

 which will last for 2 or 3 days' feeding. 



Just before feeding, hot water is poured over the 

 noodles to make them warm and slippery. The 

 mouth of the goose is forced open and the noodles 

 are put in, one at a time, and worked down by using 

 the fingers on the outside of the neck. As each 

 goose is fed it is placed on the other side of the par- 

 tition until all in the pen have been fed. It is im- 

 portant that plenty of drinking water be kept before 

 the geese. 



The feeding period where geese are noodled us- 

 ually extends from 3 to 4 weeks. Gains of 6 to 10 

 pounds per bird can be secured and often an in- 

 creased price of 10 to 15 cents a pound can be se- 

 cured for such specially fattened geese. Noodled 

 geese will average about 25 pounds and some indi- 

 viduals have been made to weigh nearly 40 pounds. 

 One man can noodle from 50 to 100 geese but has to 

 put in long hours. Noodled geese should be dressed 

 where fattened as they are soft fleshed and would 

 shrink badly if shipped alive. 



Fattening methods similar to the noodling de- 



198 



