FATTENING AND MARKETING GEESE 



Exactly the same methods can and often are em- 

 ployed in dressing geese as are used with ducks. 

 The reader is therefore also referred to the mate- 

 rial in Chapter VII. 



There seems to be no great insistence on the part 

 of most markets for dry picked geese. Some will 

 pay slightly more for the dry picked birds but others 

 make no difference. 



Packing for Shipment. After picking, the geese 

 are washed and then placed in cold water to cool. 

 Ice water is best for this purpose and is essential in 

 warm weather. The carcasses must be allowed to 

 remain in the water until they are thoroughly 

 cooled, which will take at least one to two hours. If 

 any animal heat is left in the bodies, they will spoil 

 very quickly. Often the carcasses are dipped in hot 

 water, before being thrown in the cold water, to 

 plump them. After they are thoroughly cooled, the 

 geese are packed in barrels for shipping. If the 

 weather is cool they may be packed in well venti- 

 lated barrels without ice, but if the weather is warm, 

 cracked ice must be used in packing, proceeding in 

 the same way as when packing ducks as described 

 on page . It is always risky to pack without ice. 



Saving the Feathers. Goose feathers are valu- 

 able and should therefore be saved when the geese 

 are plucked. The soft body feathers and the coarser 

 feathers should be kept separate. The feathers 

 should be cured by spreading them out in a thin lay- 

 er on the floor of a loft or room, stirring them up 



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