Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 169, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1918 — PROPER PICKING VERY IMPORTANT [ARTICLE]

PROPER PICKING VERY IMPORTANT

Poorly Dressed Fowls Cause of Loss to Packer and Can Be Prevented. BRAINING IS BIG ESSENTIAL Dark Skins, “Burnt” Wings and Legs, Discolored Necks and Other Evils Can Be Obviated—Pictures Explain. Fully. Badly picked chickens cause money losses to packers, and the importance of proper picking is comparatively as great to the owner of a small flock whose picking is done only for the family table. Torn skins, “burnt” wings and legs due to continued and rough “stripping,” pin feathers that show discolored necks because the neck feathers were pulled first instead of last —these things can be prevented by propejr nicking. Much loss results from “roughing” wlien the quills and most of\the soft feathers are removed. The few feathers, pins and down remaining should be removed by the “tipper” or “pinner.” Proper braining is essential to easy dry picking—it makes dry picking as easy as “scalding.” Steps in Picking.

The following paragraphs explaining the steps in picking are numbered to correspond with the sketches in the picture, reading from left to right. No. I.—The picking shackle, made of galvanized wire one-eighth inch in diameter, is suspended by a cord. With the feet in the shackle the wings of the bird should be level with your elbows. No. 2. —As soon as the throat vein Is cut and the brain punctured, grasp the wings in the left hand, being sure not to clasp the neck. Grasp the tail with the right hand —thumb down — then turn the wrist and twist out the feathers as the first turns upward. No. 3. —Pull the large wing feathers next. Hold the hand with the thumb upward. / Grasp as many feathers as .von can in-one- hand. JerkHiem out with a sharp, quick downward movement. One grab for small birds—two for large. No. 4. —Now for the 1 breast and sides. Begin at the wishbone. Take large handfuls. Seize the feathers with the whole fist, thumb upward. Pull up and out, twisting the forea'rm outward.

No. 5. —Work up to the thighs, taking large fistfuls of feathers and being sure to pull upward and twist the forearm outward. It's the twist that turns the trick and prevents torn skins. Do one side first, then the other. Working on Legs. No. 6. —The legs come next. Clasp the leg firmly at its base. Keep the thumb downward. Move the closed hand along the leg, pressing hard enough to strip the feathers. Be sure to work 4n the direction of tlip feather setting, and strip only once. Feathers left must be pulled. No. 7. —As the shackle holds the legs apart, it’s easy to slip the hand between them to pull the soft body feathers. Pull up, and toward the body of the picker. No. 8. —The trick in removing the back and hip feathers is to grasp the feathers with the palm of the hand outward, and then rotate the forearm inward. This makes a sort of scraping motion, and out come the feathers. No. 9. —In the picture is a hand in the act of scraping. Do you see the way the forearm is turned inward? Pull out the little feathers between the shoulders with thumb and forefinger. No. 10. —Now is the time to strip the neck. Clasp the neck, thumb upward, around the base. Strip by sweeping downward. Sometimes two sweeps are needed —one on the upper, the other on the lower half of the neck. Any feathers left must be picked out.

No. 11. —Great care must be taken with the small wing feathers, especially near the body. Stretch the wdng as shown. Pick the medium-sized soft feathers on the broad surfaces in small bunches with the thumb and forefinger. If the bunches are too large the skin will be torn. No. 12.—Hold the wing in a vertical positicyi with the thumb and forefinger pinching the second joint from the body. With thumb and forefinger moving downward against the feather setting remove the small feathers on edges and web. The stiff leathers and fans are pulled one at a time by bending sharply downward and jerking quickly.

How to Attract Birds. Birds may be attracted about homes by planting trees, herbs and shrubs which provide seeds and fruits relished by the birds, and by exposing food in artificial devices.