The marketing season for the bulk of the turkey crop is usually comparatively short, extending from the middle of November to the latter part of December. There is an increasing demand in the fall and winter and even in late summer for young turkeys. Many turkey raisers sell their birds alive to poultry dealers, who either dress them or ship them alive to city dealers. In sections where turkeys are grown in large numbers, as in Texas, dressing plants have been built by cooperative associations and poultry dealers who collect the live birds and dress them for the various city markets. As soon as possible after reaching the dressing plant, the turkeys are killed, dry-picked, cooled, and packed in barrels or boxes for shipment.

Farmers near the city markets often dress their turkeys and sell them direct either to the consumer or to the city dealer. In territory adjacent to large cities marketing both live and dressed birds at roadside stands has become common.

WHEN TO MARKET

Experiments with Bronze turkeys have indicated that well-fed, young birds of this popular variety are marketed to best advantage at from 24 to 28 weeks of age, if they are in good flesh and reasonably free from short pinfeathers. If they are kept longer than 28 weeks, the cost of maintenance and gains and the extra labor of their care cause the costs of production to rise rapidly. Under ordinary conditions 26 to 28 weeks is the best age for marketing full-fed Bronze turkey toms. For turkeys fed for rapid growth 24 weeks is a more profitable age if the birds are ready for market then, as is often the case with young hens which mature more quickly than the toms. Data obtained on more than 600 birds at the United States Range Livestock Experiment Station at Miles City, Mont., show that at 24 weeks of age the feed cost of producing live turkeys was 1 cent per pound lower than at 26 weeks of age, and 2.5 cents per pound lower than at 28 weeks. These figures, of course, will vary in different years, depending on the price of feeds. Besides this cost for feed the extra labor in caring for the birds, often during unfavorable weather, must be considered.

With the expansion of the turkey industry, the chain stores have become one of the large wholesale buyers of turkeys. They desire various sizes, according to the nature of the patronage in different localities, and as a result create a considerable market demand for hens and small toms. This is particularly true of their Thanksgiving and Christmas trade. Other channels of trade, such as restaurants, hotels, steamships, and railroad lines, prefer large toms. As turkeys become more generally used throughout the year an increase in the trade for small birds may be expected.

SELECTING BIRDS FOR MARKET

Practically all turkeys that are full fed are ready for market at from 26 to 28 weeks of age, and in many cases at 24 weeks, depending on sex, breeding, feeding, and weather. However, with range birds on limited feed, the grower can probably afford to hold his turkeys longer than 26 or 28 weeks, if necessary, because the feed costs were low during the growing period. It is, of course, very important to market only turkeys that are fat and free from small pinfeathers. Sufficient protein and minerals in the feed during the fall months are essential to proper growth and economical gains as well as to proper feather development. A prime turkey, especially a young one, is not expected to be excessively fat, but it must have an even covering of fat so that the skin appears white or yellowish white rather than dark or bluish. The breast must be meaty and the whole body free from small pinfeathers, bruises, and abrasions. Great care should be taken, therefore, not to allow the birds to bruise themselves by flying or running against obstructions; they should be handled gently and not frightened.

WITHHOLDING FEED BEFORE SLAUGHTER

Birds with feed in their crops are usually graded as no. 2 and sold at a lower price because feed in the crop spoils readily, and also detracts from the appearance of the carcass. Mash feed passes out of the crop quickly so that crops will be empty if the mash is removed at dusk on the day before slaughter and no scratch grain fed on that day. If the birds are kept without feed for more than 18 or 24 hours they may eat soil, litter, droppings, or feathers, and thus defeat the main purpose of withholding feed. This applies especially to old hens. If the birds are not to be killed until late afternoon or evening, give them a light feed of mash early in the morning. Scratch grain should be fed only until about 18 hours before slaughter. Feeding should always be planned so that feed is not withheld more than 24 hours. All birds being held for slaughter should have free access to water up to killing time.

KILLING AND PICKING

When the bird is to be killed, hang it up by the feet, holding its head in one hand and taking care not to compress the veins in the neck. Open the mouth and cut the jugular vein far back in the throat, just below the base of the skull. For this purpose use the point of a sharp, narrow-bladed knife. As soon as profuse bleeding begins, thrust the knife up through the groove in the roof of the mouth and into the rear lobe of the brain at the back of the skull so as to render the bird unconscious. When the correct "stick" is obtained, the bird usually gives a peculiar squawk, the tail feathers spread, and all the feathers are loosened by a quivering of the muscles. After sticking, continue to hold the bird's head and attach a blood cup to the lower jaw. The bird's wings should never be locked, as this often results in their being broken, which usually reduces the bird to a low grade. Likewise, no attempt should be made to hold the bird's wings tightly. Blood cups weighing 5 pounds are needed for large birds, whereas cups weighing 3 to 4 pounds are best for small and medium-sized birds.

In dry picking it is essential that the feathers be plucked immediately after the bird is killed. If the bird has been properly stuck, they come out very easily. First remove the tail and large wing feathers and then the body feathers, leaving the small wing feathers and neck and upper breast feathers until last. Pull out all feathers a few at a time, but do not rub them off as this injures the skin and often lowers the grade. Dry picking can be learned best by personal instructions. The semiscald method of picking turkeys is used in some sections at commercial dressing plants, but nearly all home-dressed turkeys are dry-picked.[2]

Clean-picked turkeys are now preferred, but a single row of short fan feathers on the last joint of each wing may be left. Leave no feathers on any other part of the body. Remove all pinfeathers, especially from the breast, but do not attempt to dig out pinfeathers too short to be pulled. After picking, snap the blood from the bird's mouth with a quick motion and squeeze the vent to remove any droppings that may be there. The feet, if dirty, should be washed and dried. These methods make for clean carcasses, good grades, and good keeping quality. After picking and chilling the birds, cover the heads with head wraps made of heavy waxed paper, to prevent blood soaking through and smearing the carcasses. Whenever the skin is torn, sew it neatly with white thread.

When birds have been killed with feed in their crops, remove the entire crop. Through a 2- or 3-inch slit in the neck, beginning where the neck joins the body, the crop can be completely loosened and withdrawn, the gullet being cut well below the crop. Then sew the opening with No. 36 white thread. Turn in the edges of the skin so as to make a neat job that will not be noticeable when the bird is put on the market.

According to data on Bronze turkeys, killing and picking after the birds had been starved overnight resulted in a loss of about 9 percent of weight for large birds and 10 percent for small birds. The turkeys were weighed both before and after they were killed and picked and again after they had cooled overnight. The larger birds had the lower percentages of loss in weight and therefore the higher dressing percentages. The weight loss of dressed turkeys while chilling overnight is very small, only about one-sixth of 1 percent. Therefore, practically all the loss in weight that occurs during picking and chilling results from the loss of blood and feathers. The weight loss of turkeys overnight just before slaughter when they received no feed was about 3 percent, on an average, making the total loss from their normal weight, due to withholding feed, picking, and chilling, about 13 percent. When dressed turkeys are drawn, with head and feet removed and giblets replaced, there is a further loss of about 15 percent of the dressed weight.

COOLING

Hanging the birds indoors by the legs for 24 hours or more, or laying them on their backs on a clean surface where the temperature of the air ranges from 30° to 36° F. will properly chill the carcasses. They should be thoroughly chilled but not frozen, since frozen birds sweat and, because of their rigid condition, cannot be packed without great waste of space. In mild weather it is often impossible to cool the carcasses properly without the use of refrigeration or ice water. Cooling in water spoils the appearance of dry-picked carcasses and should be done only as a last resort. A suitable thermometer is an indispensable part of the chilling equipment.

PACKING

Boxes and barrels are generally used for packing dressed turkeys. Packing in clean barrels, while easier and slightly cheaper, is not so satisfactory as box packing, although barrels are often more readily available.

Boxes are greatly preferred by the trade and by organized pools. In box packing, the single-layer pack of 6 to 14 birds, depending on their size, is preferred. The boxes are usually large enough to hold from 10 to 12 medium-sized birds (fig. 23).

When barrels are used, a large size is necessary for large toms. Smaller barrels are suitable for hens and small toms. Line the barrel with white wrapping paper or common white parchment paper. Lay the birds with their backs against the sides of the barrel, and if it is necessary to pack larger birds in the same barrel, place them in the center. When the barrel is full, turn down the paper, take off the top hoop, place a piece of clean burlap over the top, and replace and renail the hoop over the burlap.

Boxes, barrels, or any other containers used should be free from objectionable odor, as the turkey meat may absorb it.

There is considerable risk for the producer who does not have access to proper refrigerating facilities in shipping dressed turkeys during mild weather. If the birds are to be sold in mild weather, it is safest to market them alive or else sell them dressed to local purchasers as losses from improper cooling of dressed turkeys and from exposure to warm weather during transit are likely to occur. When turkeys are to be shipped only a short distance it may be feasible to chill the dressed birds in ice water and then to pack them in barrels with cracked ice between layers and at each end of the barrel. A top layer of ice placed between two layers of burlap tacked securely over the top of the barrel is desirable. The internal temperature of the turkeys should be reduced to 34° F. before they are shipped.