Fattening and Killing Table and Export Poultry. 
77 
appearance of the attendant at any time the birds will be found ready and anxious for their meal. In 
handling the birds they must not be pulled out by the legs, wings or neck, but taken out with both hands 
around the body in the centre holding them firmly. This will prevent them struggling and will be found the 
most expeditious when taking them out of the coop or returning. 
Machines for fattening fowls by the process of cramming are used where the business operations 
are conducted on an extensive scale, the " Modus Operandi " being to tuck the bird under the left arm, and 
held firmly against the attendant's body, opening the beak with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, 
and introducing into the bird's mouth by the aid of the right hand, a tube which is connected with a rubber 
pipe, in turn attached to the receptacle in which the semi-liquid food to be given is stored. A foot lever is 
attached which on being pressed upon by the foot of the attendant injects the desired cjuantity of food at a 
single stroke. In this manner a large number of birds can be fed in an incredibly short space of time, the 
birds being fed three times per day for a period ranging from two to three weeks, when they are ready for 
market. Where a great number are undergoing the process of fattening this system will be advantageous. 
We have seen this in operation and were very much struck with the simplicity attached to the performance. 
However, the simpler system of feeding the birds in the single coops we have described will answer in many 
cases, as very little time is required in attendance, and they do not require handling, a certain amount of 
time being occupied in handling for the cramming process.' 
We must now proceed to explain the various methods of killing the birds and preparing them for 
market. In all cases the birds to be killed should not be allowed food or water for at least 1 2 hours 
previously, the main reason for this being, that if no food is given for the period stated, the intestines and 
crop will be quite free of food when the operation takes place. One method of killing the birds is to open 
the bird's beak, and insert the sharp-pointed blade of a knife through the slit or roof of the mouth, pressing 
the knife in sufficiently to pierce the brain, or by plucking a few feathers off the neck at the base of the ear, 
pressing the knife well in, and cutting well open. A third plan is to dislocate the neck of the fowl. This, 
with practice, is the best plan of all. The bird should be held firmly by the hocks with the left hand, the 
right hand grasping the head tightly, now by placing the left hand against the left thigh on the outside, and 
the right hand against the right thigh, also outside, by now widening the distance between the thighs, the 
head of the fowl being bent backwards, it will slip instantly out of its socket. There is Httle or no pain 
attached to the operation, the act being instantaneous, as the spinal cord, main arteries, veins and nerves are 
divided, the head only being connected with the body by the skin of the neck. When killed, the bird 
should be hung up by the legs to allow the blood to run into the neck, and to bleed freely. This consider- 
ably improves the appearance of the skin. Any one of these methods is preferable to cutting the throat or 
chopping off the head, which disfigures the carcase. 
The birds should be plucked while still warm, as the feathers are removed much easier than if allowed 
to get cold. When this operation is completed, the wings should be twisted behind the back, the hocks 
placed together, and the bird placed on its back, with the head and neck hanging down over the edge of a 
board or table, so that any blood remaining in the carcase may drain into the head and neck. Naturally, 
plump Fowls do not require any further operation, such as flattening out the breastbone, etc., and, in fact, 
would be spoiled by the process. 
Plucking Poultry. — To pluck Poultry easily and expeditiously, we can recommend the following plan 
as being absolutely the best : After killing the bird, dip the body in cold water till the feathers are well 
saturated, then hang up by the legs to drain the water off. Apply half a teacupful of finely powdered resin 
to the feathers, using a dredging box for the purpose. Then scald in the usual way. The resin causes the 
feathers and pin-feathers to adhere to each other, the whole being easily and cleanly removed with little 
trouble. 
The common crude resin is the best, and, being very cheap, the cost is made up ten times over by the 
vast amount of labour saved in the plucking, though where the feathers have some market or domestic value, 
the resin should not be applied. 
