572 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



especially with a light. The hen pigeons are likely to be fright- 

 ened from their nests, and in the darkness fail to find them again, 

 consequently chilled eggs and fewer squabs will result. 



Squabs intended for market should be caught in the morning 

 before they are fed by their parents, so that their crops will be 

 empty. They are killed in the same manner as poultry, by cut- 

 ting the arteries in the back of the roof of the mouth and pierc- 

 ing the brain, then bled, after which the feathers and down are 

 plucked clean, with the exception of the head. To pluck eight 

 squabs an hour is good work, though there are some experts 

 who claim a record of fourteen. 



Packing. — ^Squabs should be cooled the same as other poultry, 

 either by plunging them in cold water, or by hanging them in a 

 cool place. If the crops contain any food, it may be advisable 

 to cut them open and clean it out. When the birds are thor- 

 oughly chilled they are carefully graded as to size and color, 

 and packed for shipment in buckets with perforated bottoms. 

 Pack them with their breasts up, in layers, with paraffin paper 

 between the layers, and a generous supply of cracked ice through- 

 out the entire package. 



Naturally, the production of squabs from each pair of breed- 

 ers varies widely, much the same as the egg yield will vary on a 

 chicken farm. They are known to yield ten or twelve pairs a 

 year. This is exceptional; a fair average would be seven pairs. 

 They sell at the highest prices during cold weather, for pigeons 

 do not breed so freely in the winter months. 



