THE POULTRY AND EGG INDUSTRY IN EUROPE * 19 
on casters or crates on movable trucks are unknown. It is necessary 
that the birds, on receipt at the plant, be taken from the coops, placed 
in the feeding batteries, then, after feeding, be removed from the 
batteries into coops again and taken to the killing room. 
The feeds used are a mixture of coarsely ground corn and oats 
or barley, hand mixed with water into a stiff paste, which is allowed 
to stand for 12 hours before feeding. The birds are fed twice a 
day all that they are able to eat of this mixture. The whole station 
has a capacity of about 12,000 head. Although there is no undue 
death loss in this method of feeding, neither is there any appreciable 
gain. As a matter of fact, one operator said that his poultry always 
weighed less when it was taken out of the crates than when it went 
in. The only reason given for feeding was that the feeding period 
made the flesh tenderer and more even in color. The appearance 
of the birds after dressing indicates malnutrition, as the breasts are 
sharper and the bodies less well filled out than is expected even in 
the ordinary dressed poultry prepared in the United States, al- 
though the smaller or broiler sizes of these birds are being prepared 
for export to the United States. The larger sizes are sold in con- 
tinental Europe. 
DRESSING 
In the killing room the birds are hung by the feet, killed by 
cutting the throat, allowed to bleed, and all the feathers are removed 
by women and children. The feather picking is an unduly laborious 
process, as the birds are often nearly cold before the feathers are 
taken off. The technique of bleeding and sticking the brain to 
release the feathers, commonly practiced when poultry is diy-picked 
in the United States, is not practiced. The intestines are removed 
by inserting a finger in the vent and pulling them away from the 
gizzard. The abdomen is then stuffed with paper until distended to 
original size. In some plants the birds are killed by inserting small 
scissors in the mouth and snipping the veins at the base of the 
skull; in others the throat is cut from the outside. 
COOLING AND PACKING 
After dressing, the birds are placed loosely in shallow boxes, about 
six to a box, and each box is carried to the refrigerated cooling rooms 
and placed on the floor. They are allowed to cool overnight at 
approximately a freezing temperature or a little below, and are 
packed more clos'ely into boxes the next day. As few sizes of boxes 
as possible are used. The number of the birds placed in a box varies 
in accordance with their size, the numbers and weights being marked 
on the outside of the box. It is probable that these methods of pack- 
ing will be so changed as to have a standard content of 12 birds to 
the box, the size of the box varying to fit the varying sizes of the 
poultry. 
Compared with the United States, the amount of labor involved is 
enormous. Extra labor is incurred in every department of the oper- 
ations — feeding station, killing room, and packing room. It is ap- 
parent either that the labor item is not considered or that it is 
considered that improved methods to save labor would not warrant 
the cost of the investment. 
