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] [2] Detailed information on killing, grading, and marketing turkeys is given in Farmers' Bulletins 1694. Dressing and Packing Turkeys, and 1815, Grading Dressed Turkeys.