Over on my homesteading
blog, I’ve been reviewing a fun pamphlet about
early
New England gardens.
In the process, I started looking
through images on Old Sturbridge Village’s website, and came across
this grouping
of chickens from 1866
that I just had to share. The key lists the varieties as follows:
1.
White Dorkings
2. Poland Fowls
3. Creoles or Bolton Grays
4. Cochin Chinas
5. Gray Game Fowls
6. Hamburg Fowls
7. Bantams
White Dorkings
2. Poland Fowls
3. Creoles or Bolton Grays
4. Cochin Chinas
5. Gray Game Fowls
6. Hamburg Fowls
7. Bantams
The artist seemed to
like chickens with fuzzy heads — I have no clue if that was
widespread at the time, but it sure looks funny.
The past is fun, but
don’t forget those modern conveniences. Our automatic chicken water
ensures that your flock has clean water, even if you go out of town for
the weekend.
Another apparently popular breed a bit later (1800s) was the java. It is now very rare, but if you can get a hold of some they are suposed to be good egg and meat birds. and are both friendly and good foragers, perfect for homesteader (reason they are so rare, big far industry prefers specialty birds).
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2002-02-01/Java-Chickens-Back-From-the-Brink.aspx
Sounds like a very good breed for us! I’m still collecting data and am starting to think I may have to try several breeds to see which one forages best on our farm. If so, we’ll add Javas to the list.