of picking.
Picking usually begins early in the morning about 6 o'clock and is
generally finished by noon or soon after. Most duck raisers figure on
doing their killing and picking during the first half of the week and do
not like to kill if they can help it during the latter days of the week.
[Illustration: FIG. 46. Picking the ducks. (_Photograph from the Bureau
of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
_Dry Picking._ Where the market requires it, the ducks must be dry
picked. In doing this the procedure is the same as in dry picking
chickens. After the cut is made to bleed the ducks, the point of the
knife is plunged through the roof of the mouth until it reaches the
brain when it is turned to cause a paralysis of the muscles which
enables the feathers to be plucked more easily. The duck is then struck
on the back of the head with a club to stun it and make it easier to
handle when picking. The picker seats himself by the feather box, with
the duck on his lap, holding the head pressed against the outside of the
box and held there by the picker's leg. He then proceeds immediately and
as quickly as possible to pluck the feathers. It is necessary to
accomplish this without delay, for the feathers soon set and are then
much harder to pluck and are more likely to result in tears in the skin.
When removing the down, the hand is moistened when much of the down can
be rubbed off. Pin feathers are removed by grasping them between the
thumb and the edge of a dull knife and any which cannot be gotten in
this way are shaved off with a sharp knife. After picking, the carcasses
are cooled in cold water the same as the scalded birds.
_Cooling._ After the birds are plucked they are thrown into cold water
and are left there for several hours or until the body heat is entirely
removed. It is most important that this be thoroughly accomplished for
if any body heat is left in the carcasses they are almost sure to become
green-struck when packed. The length of time that they must be left
in the water depends upon the weather conditions. If the weather is warm
so that the water is not very cool it is necessary to add ice in order
to hasten the cooling and to accomplish it thoroughly. Cooling in water
also serves to plump the carcasses somewhat.
_Packing._ After the ducks are thoroughly cooled they are removed from
the water and packed. Long Island ducklings are usually packed in
barrels. Forty-five ducks will pack in a sugar barrel and 33 in a flour
barre