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Show Poultryman Gives Advice on Turkey Marketing Turkey growers are losing money mon-ey annually by selling birds that are not ready for market, Carl Prischknecht, extension poultry-man poultry-man at the Utah State Agricultural Agricul-tural college, states. When the marketing season comes many turkey growers split their flock and sell part of them for Thanksgiving market and the rest for Christmas trade without handling them invidivually to determine de-termine whether they are ready for sale, Mr. Prischknecht contends. con-tends. Turkeys should be fully fleshed, j covered with, a layer of fat. free j from pin feathers. Prime turkeys that bring top prices at market-tog market-tog time will have a light colored skin with no dark meat peeking through. To determine whether a turkey Is fit for market, the bird must be handled individually, Mr. Prischknecht explains. If turkeys are ready for sale, the breast, alontf with all other parts of the body, should be well covered with meat. If the surface of the skin has a bluish appearance, the en-carcass en-carcass is seldom covered with a Jayer of fat and the bird thus needs more feeding. Another method of determining whether turkeys are ready for market Is to pull out one of the Pin feathers and squeeze the quill. H there is a dark bloody sub- stance in the quill, the turkey is Immature and needs more finishes: finish-es: if the quill comes out clean anl dry, the bird is mature and be easy to pick. It will be more beneficial to turkey growers, to feed immature, turkeys rather than market them j too soon even if prices are low-er low-er later on," Mr. Prischknecht includes. |