5 
Leaflet No. 229. 
value for turkeys, for they not only provide much natural 
food but are cool and sheltered. Care must be exercised, 
however, where foxes abound. 
Fattening. 
The selection and separation for stoclc purposes should be 
made in the autumn, the reserves for that purpose being 
birds oi" good frame and stout legs rather than merely heavy 
specimens. Those carrying much flesh are generally possessed 
of small bones, and are more suitable for fattening than for 
stock ; they should not, however, be shut up until some 
time in November, but allowed the run of the fields, 
being at the same time well fed on ground oats. The birds 
which respond most satisfactorily to the fattening process 
proper are those which have been kept in good condition 
from their earliest days. 
About a month before they will be required for market 
they should be confined in a large open-fronted shed, 
situated in a quiet position. The best fattening food is 
Sussex ground oats* and milk, with fat added every other 
day, but barley meal and maize meal are often added in 
equal proportions. Some authorities consider that soured 
skim-milk, or butter-milk, is essential if good quality is to 
be attained. The best birds are produced where skim-milk 
is available. Swedes or potatoes may also be boiled and 
mixed with the meal. All the food should be mixed soft, 
but not sticky, and be placed in a trough which must be 
kept well scoured. Plenty of grit should be supplied. If 
desirable, cramming may be resorted to during the latter 
portion of the period, but when the birds are in good con- 
dition at the commencement of trough feeding, cramming is 
in most cases unnecessary. 
Marketing. 
Turkeys should be killed by dislocation of the neck after 
starving for 24 hours, and be plucked warm, drawing the 
feathers in their own direction, plucking the bird clean 
except for the neck feathers, which it is usual to leave on. 
The method of tying and shaping is subject to local modi- 
fications and the requirements of the markets. 
* This poultry food is made by f^rinding oats into a fine meal. The 
special finely-ground product required is obtained by mixing a small 
proportion ot barley with hard flinty oats. Russian and other foreign oats 
are usually employed in preference to the softer home-grown grain. 
