CHAPTER XXV 
KILLING POULTRY 
Results of bad bleeding. The manner in which fowls are 
slaughtered and bled out has an important bearing upon the ap- 
pearance and keeping quality of the product. Poorly bled fowls 
often show red dots where the feathers have been’ removed, espe- 
cially in areas over the thighs and wings. Also, veins are seen to 
stand out prominently over the breast, angles of the wings, or on 
the neck. In poorly bled birds the neck is the first part to discolor. 
At first it is red, later bluish red or purple and still later, green. 
The bad appearance of poorly bled carcasses detracts from their 
value and their keeping qualities are very much impaired. 
Pennington and Betts have made an anatomical study of the 
blood vessels of the head and neck of the chicken with reference to 
determining the most satisfactory method of securing complete bleed- 
ing. Their description of proper methods of killing, and discussion 
of faulty methods are quoted as follows. 
“ ouTTING’”’? TO BLEED AND “STICKING” TO BRAIN 
When the feathers are removed by scalding, the bird is killed by 
bleeding alone, hence the cuts to sever the veins are the only ones 
attempted, and if the attempt fails bad bleeding will surely result. 
If, on the other hand, dry picking is to be practiced, the birds are cut 
to bleed and are also stuck through the brain to paralyze the feather 
muscles. The latter operation is sometimes performed by running 
the knife under the eye at such an angle that its point will touch the 
skull midway between the eyes and a little behind them; or the 
braining is accomplished by placing the knife about halfway down 
the groove in the roof of the chicken’s mouth, and then thrusting it 
up until the knife reaches the top of the skull. The knife, as in 
sticking under the eye, should touch the brain in the back part of 
the skull. The point of the knife should then be twisted slightly, so 
that enough brain tissue may be destroyed to paralyze the bird and 
cause the feathers to loosen. If the “ outside-stick” method is prac- 
ticed, practically no blood escapes. If, on the other hand, braining 
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