64 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



tening substance that can be supplied, and gives, also, a yellowish 

 cast to the flesh which is very desirable. Where there are fowls 

 or other chicks to interfere it is well to pen those to be fattened in 

 a clean, shady yard. 



As dry picked poultry commands the best prices it is advisable 

 to dress broilers in this way if it can be done without inflicting un- 

 necessary torture upon the birds. In opposition to many kind- 

 hearted folks who have drawn harrowing pictures of hanging human 

 beings up by the heels and pulling the hair out by the roots and 

 have drawn other horrible comparisons, we maintain that killing 

 and picking dry is no more cruel than killing and picking after 

 scalding. Whether the bird suffers prolonged pain or not depends 

 •on the manner of killing and not on the manner of picking. 



There is much to be learned about dressing poultry. It is 

 useless to send fowls to market unless fat and neatly dressed. At- 

 tractiveness is an important feature in selling, and great loss fre- 

 quently occurs from lack of it. In selling to local dealers use the 

 same care in dressing that would be taken if shipping to a distant 

 commission merchant is the advice of a writer in The American 

 Agriculturist, who says : Fowls look best when dry picked, 

 especially if fat and plump. If they are not in fine condition, it is 

 best to scald them before picking. When dry picked, the natural 

 firmness of the flesh remains, and poultry for general markets 

 should be so prepared if possible. Let the fowls go without food 

 for 12 or 24 hours before killing, so that nothing will remain in the 

 crop to sour. Kill by severing the veins of the neck or inside the 

 mouth. This can be quickly and painlessly done with a sharp knife. 

 Hang the fowls by the feet to bleed and pick while the bodies are 

 warm, using great care not to tear the skin. Leave the head and 

 feet on and do not remove the crop or intestines. Wash in cold 

 water, wipe dry and hang up by the feet in a cool place. For scald- 

 ing, heat the water about to the boiling point. Holding the fowl 

 by the head and feet, dip the body into the water three or four times. 

 If the head touches the water, it will give the eyes a shrunken ap- 

 pearance. Buyers are naturally suspicious, and if the eyes are 

 sunken they think the fowl has been sick. When the feathers and 

 pinfeathers have been removed, immerse the fowl in scalding water 

 for four or five seconds and then dip immediately into ice cold water 

 to give it a plump appearance. If the head is cut off, turn the skin 

 back of trifle, cut off the bone, and drawing the skin forward tie it 

 neatly. 



A writer in the American Poultry Journal gives this excellent 

 description of the work of killing and dressing for market: 



The chicks should be shut up the night before in a clean coop 

 with board floor, sprinkled with sawdust or sand. They must be 

 given a supper, but do not feed them a particle the day they are 

 to be killed. All the arrangements for picking should be made the 

 day before. A long, narrow coop should be arranged close to the 

 sticking pole, and this pole should be placed near where the pin 

 featherer is to sit. We nail a pole or shingle rib fast to the feed 



