The vintage poultry Book we highlight in this column were compose around the turn of the 20th century , long before Cornish Cross broilers and superlaying cross came to be , so they ’re a rich source of information about inheritance breeds , such as the ones promote byThe Livestock ConservancyandSlow Food USA .
In addition to specific breed selective information , these old - time tomes contain advice on choosing the right chicken for your situation . Myra Norys , a alum from Rhode Island College Special Poultry Course and author for theAmerican Poultry Journal , drop a line in Pocket Money Poultry(1904 ) that people should choose a breed they like and the one they know the most about , if potential . “ Another principle , the retainer of which may save lease the back trail sometimes , is this , ” she read . “ The easy way and the safe way to crop into fowl is to choose a variety that is easy to spawn , easy to bring up and sluttish to sell . ”
Picking a breed specific for your determination was a smart move , too , they advised . Stephen Beale write inProfitable domestic fowl Keeping(1884 ) , one of the older books we ’ve reviewed , that success in poultry guardianship mean not only the proper feeding and management of the birds but the selection of a breed that is desirable to the place where they are to be kept . “ In gain to this , the question of what is most in demand must be taken into consideration , ” he wrote .
“ For in poultry keeping , as in every other pursuit , opportunity must hold in circumstances , and circumstances adapt themselves as far as potential to opportunities . It would be foolishness for any one to select a breed that is most worthy for tabular array role in a post where bollock are need , or on the other bridge player , to keep lay fowls , where table chicken are sought for most of all and testis very plentiful . And it is equally dopy to rear birds of no stock whatever , which , having no special characteristics , are neither suitable for one purpose or the other . ”
W. M. Elkington said much the same thing inPopular Poultry Keeping for Amateurs(1907 ) . “ Which is the best breed of poultry ? ” he call for . “ This interrogative is continually being asked by those who mull keep poultry . The only answer that can be given to it is that there is no good stock that excels all others in every regard . ” Elkington explained that some breeds are well suit for one situation while different breeds are the right choice for another . For example , certain diverseness excel as table birds while others take first social status as layers and still others commingle both qualities .
“ But in spite of frequent announcements that such a form of chick is do , we have never yet been able-bodied to discover a breed that will , under all circumstances , head the list in beauty , table qualities and laying powers , ” he said .
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White Leghorn
Those who want a virgin strain , and whose object is egg alone , will by nature keep one of the light , nonsitting potpourri . Even then , theLeghornstood almost at the headway of these .
“ For hardiness , laying king , and beauty , it is probably unrivalled , ” Elkington write . “ To see the beauty of the White Leghorns amply , or for that matter , to see the smasher of any white stock , they must be keep on a grass lawn in the country . Their elegant bodies , with their white - white plume , yellow pegleg and glorious flushed combs , smoothen out in striking demarcation to the bright dark-green grass and make them appear real affair of beauty . ”
Elkington also noted that Brown Leghorns will be found more suitable for Ithiel Town rill than White , as their dreary feather does n’t so pronto show the soil as that of their fairer sisters .
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Many ledger compose in that era agreed with Elkington ’s premiss that Leghorns were the best layer of the Clarence Day . Alfred Gibson expressed incertitude inMy Poultry Day by Day(1917 ) that any birdie was ever so popular as the White Leghorn among egg farmers .
“ It is an egg machine pure and simple , ” he write , “ and can be bred in April to lay in September . Probably no bird will give the same return for money , since it becomes rich long before any other fertile fowl and is not a big feeder . It is a representative of the Mediterranean eccentric , a nonsitter , full of energy and gutsiness , and has a bearing that suggests pride and gracefulness . ”
The Black variety is comfortably adapted for town life story , he give notice , but it ’s an almost evenly good bed . There were also Brown , Blue and Buff varieties of Leghorns , he noted , but the White was the most popular . While it made fair eating , Leghorns are n’t adjust for tabular array purposes .
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Norys sang the Leghorn ’s praises , too . “ The very word ‘ Leghorn ’ is a equivalent word for the high-pitched potential egg production . What does ‘ equal to the Leghorn ’ in reality mean in detail ? It entail early repose ; it means gravid egg ; it mean small eating ; it means nonsitting electrical capacity ; it means a snort of small sizing , of which more in number can be housed in symmetrical space that in the casing of a large breed . ”
Darker Shades
When it come up to multipurpose stock , Norys preferred the Plymouth Rock or the Light Brahma ( show above ) . For a broiler , it was the White Wyandotte .
“ For the place of leading general - purpose domestic fowl , the contest betweenPlymouth Rockand LightBrahmawas hot and long , ” she wrote . “ The one matter that quieted it to some extent was the clamant leap of the White Wyandotte into a position above both with the broiler men . ”
Fanny Field , writing in theExcelsior Poultry Book(1891 ) , best-loved Plymouth Rocks . “ For a general - intent fowl — for general farm and grocery store fowls for those who desire to keep but one cover and want that one good for pretty much every determination for which fowls are keep — the Plymouth Rocks tolerate at the head , ” she wrote , note that the Dominiques and Wyandottes could also be considered .
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Elkington preferred Plymouth Rocks , too . “ Wyandottes , Langshans , Plymouth Rocks andOrpingtonsmust take the frontmost place as worldwide - utility fowl — fowls , that is , which will lay a fair amount of eggs , sit occasionally and , when killed , will deliver a satisfactory story of themselves under the cutter ’s knife . ”
In light , these were the kind of hiss that the granger and small homeowner at the time required . Close behind them , he noted , were Dominiques and Scotch Greys .
More Breeds
Some authors intimate breeds for specific needs , such as Field when she advised acquire Cochins , Brahmas or Langshans for wintertime layer . “ These breed will also , if given full chain of mountains and force to scratch for part of their support , do middling well at the bollock business in summer , ” she write . For those who must keep their fowls confined to yard the class round , the Cochins , Brahmas and Langshans have no master , she suggest . Faenkova Elena / Shutterstock
For hoi polloi who wanted bed that laid yr - round , Field preferred Plymouth Rocks , Dominiques , Wyandottes ( image above ) and Javas , and for spring crybaby — chickens to sell for broilers — Plymouth Rocks were at the head word of her list , followed by Wyandottes , Dominiques and Houdans . For large chickens to betray or glean in the fall or winter , the Brahmas , Cochins and Langshans were the best in Field ’s optic .
If you love these erstwhile - clock time breeds , ensure out the score of vintage domestic fowl books downloadable from theHeritage Biodiversity Library . Besides the books we ’ve quoted , you ’ll chance fascinating stock - specific works such asThe Book of the Dorking , story of the Anconas , Minorcas of Every Comb and ColorandThe Feather ’s Plymouth Rock Book . All of these downloads are free .
Free Library
All the vintage domestic fowl books we discuss in this column are uncommitted from theBiodiversity Heritage Library , a pool of libraries dedicate to score digital a huge regalia of old - prison term natural story and farming al-Qur’an and diary so they ’re usable as free downloads to anyone who wants to read them .
Some 200,000 title are available , including more than 50 oecumenical - involvement poultry books , and a superfluity of Scripture just about chickens including stock and bantam , geese , duck’s egg , turkeys and Republic of Guinea fowl . It ’s a imagination every domestic fowl keeper should have .
This story originally appear in the September / October 2018 issue ofChickensmagazine .
