§ 33. Bleeding and Picking
When only a few chickens are to be dressed, the simplest way of
bleeding is to chop off the head with an ax or cleaver. They should be
scalded at once and picked. Scalding causes the muscles at the base of
the feathers to relax, so the feathers come out easily. After picking,
the skin can be made firm by plunging the bird in cold water. The crop
and intestines should be removed as soon as the skin is cooled.
If the bird is to be dry picked, it should be bled by cutting the
blood vessels in the head and puncturing the brain. For this
purpose, a scalpel or a small knife, is used. The instrument must be
pointed and very sharp. The bird is grasped by the head with the
left hand, and with the right hand the scalpel is thrust upward
inside the mouth at the back of the throat. If done properly, the
bird will bleed almost as fast as when the entire head is removed.
The knife should be thrust clear through to the brain so the bird
will be stunned. Stunning the bird in this way has the same effect
as scalding, in that it causes the muscles at the base of the
feathers to relax so that the feathers can be easily plucked out. If
the bird is not stunned, the feathers will not pull out so readily.
The bird should be hung up by the feet and picked immediately,
before the body gets cold and the feathers set. A few at a time
should be grasped between the thumb and first finger, and the pull
should be upward and backward, in the direction which the feathers
naturally lie.
Turkeys, geese and ducks are usually bled and dry picked. Immediately
after bleeding they should be suspended from a hook and picked, in the
same way that a fowl is dry picked.
Owing to the thickness of the feathers on ducks and geese, dry picking
with them is usually a slower process than with other birds. After
bleeding, a cloth should be wrapped around the head to catch the
blood, so that the feathers will not become bloody. The goose or duck
should then be laid on a board on the top of an open barrel or jar,
and the feathers dropped into the vessel as they are picked. The
coarse wing feathers should be kept separate from the softer feathers.
When the feathers have been removed the short down may removed by
singeing with a gasoline or alcohol flame. A hot flame should not be
used, as it will give an oily appearance to the skin.
When it is not desired to save the feathers, quicker work may be done
by scalding the birds and wrapping them for a few minutes in a sack or
blanket to steam. Since there is danger of their being steamed too
much, they should be closely watched, and, as soon as the feathers
come out readily, they are ready to be picked, singed, and then cooled
by plunging into cold water. The sudden cooling hardens the skin.