selecting a farm for such a purpose, a location should be chosen where
there are no close neighbors as the odor from the geese and yards is
offensive to most persons.
_Selling Geese Alive._ Most farmers who raise only a few geese ship them
alive, either sending them to some commission house or selling them to
someone who makes a specialty of fattening. Such geese are often in
poor condition and bring the lowest quotation. Large coops similar to
those used for turkeys should be used in shipping geese.
_Killing._ Where geese are killed on the farm for shipment to market
they are usually hung up by means of a cord about the legs. When geese
are to be dry picked the veins in the throat just beyond the skull are
first severed with a long bladed knife such as used for killing turkeys
to cause good bleeding and the point of the knife is then plunged
through the roof of the mouth to the brain performing the stick which
serves to make the feathers come out more easily as with other classes
of poultry. Since it is rather difficult to dry pick geese, they are
usually scalded or steamed and where this is done, the stick is not made
but after the veins in the throat are cut, the goose is stunned by a
blow on the back of the head with a short club. A blood can or weight is
then hooked through the lower bill which keeps the neck straightened out
and prevents the blood from being thrown about the room or on the birds.
The birds are allowed to hang until they are dead and thoroughly bled
out.
_Picking._ When geese are dry picked, the feathers are removed just as
soon as the birds are stuck for the longer the delay the harder the
feathers pull. The wings are picked to the first joint and the feathers
of the neck half-way to the head. The soft pin feathers and fine down
may be removed by shaving the skin or rubbing the body with moistened
hands will partially remove them.
Usually geese are scalded or steamed for picking. For steaming a wash
boiler three-quarters full of boiling water and with a burlap sack
tightly stretched over its top can be used. The goose is simply laid on
the sack and the steam coming through the burlap steams the feathers and
makes them easy to remove. The breast should be steamed first, then the
back and then each side. Two or three minutes will be time enough to
complete the steaming. The feathers are steamed until they pull out
easily. The goose must be kept moving to prevent the flesh from becoming
scalded and since the breast is especially te