'XMAS POULTRY HINTS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2521, 21 December 1922, Page 4

'XMAS POULTRY HINTS

Here are a few hints which, it would pay to bear in mind when you are selecting the Christmas poultry. The best and youngest turkeys are those with pink skins. Other indications of age are to be found in the legs. In the case of an old and tough bird these will be of a reddish colour and they will have a/ scaly appearance. Young turkeys have black legs that feel smooth. It im possible to determine the age of*a goose very largely by the colour of its beak and feet. In young birds these'should be of a bright yellow colour, while, when the bird is old, the tint inelineb towards red. Very - much the same kind of thing is to be observed in the case of ducks. ' , '

It is quite a common practice to fatten up old fowls at Christmas and-try to palm them off on the public.as capons or chickens'. It is always easy to detect a fraud if the following points "are borne in mind. Old fowls have rough and untidy legs, qute unlike the smooth, clean ones of the' youngsters. As well, too, a close examination of thcbreast of the bird will give useful indications.

In an old fowl there are a number of long black hairs that remain after an ordinary plucking. These would never be present in the case of a young' bird. ’ Even where these hairs have been singed away the black showing where, the roots are, can be plainly seen. Such a bird is certainly “no chicken.”