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Show DRESS SQUABS FOR MARKET After Penetrating Brain With Sharp Knife Bird Is Allowed to Bleed Thoroughly. (By MICHAEL, K. BOTER, New Jersey. One-half dozen or more squab ara hung on the rack at one time. Tha wings of each are then locked, which, is done by drawing the wings closely together in the back, allowing ona wing to overlap the other. It holds them firmly and causes no pain. The mouth of the squab is held open with the thumb and first finger of the left hand, the head and shoulders being be-ing held in the left hand. With a knife in the righlhand the blade is inserted through the crown of the head, penetrating pene-trating the brain. - At once the operator releases hist grasp and allows the bird to bleed thoroughly before starting to pluck the feathers. By the time about half a dozen of the birds have been stabbed the first killed has bled sufficiently to be ready for picking. The squab is then removed re-moved from the rack and held In tha hands while plucking the feathers. This method is said to be the most rapid, it being found that from 100 to 150 squab can thus be dressed in a day by a good operator.' Some pigeon men believe in holding the bird while killing, but it has been proven that birds held do not bleed so thoroughly as when hanging, owing to the fact that the hand more or less compresses "the fine veins, thus retarding retard-ing the flow of blood. When a bird is not sufficiently bled it shows itself in blisters. These blisters blis-ters are red blotches that form on the backs of the birds, and which develop by the time the carcasses reach tha market. Fresh water should be given twice daily, but only the very best of grain. Avoid damaged stuff. Do not fail to bear in mind that tha profit is derived only from the mated pairs. |