Historical Coops and My Reality

 

From The People's Practical Poultry Book
William M. Lewis
1871

When my husband moved us out into the country I told him I wanted chickens. I raised poultry as a child so I knew what I was getting into and what they would need. He on the other hand…
But before we could even think about purchasing the birds we needed to figure out where we would keep them.
Well right away I had visions of a historically accurate coop and dove into hours of research. There really is a lot out there about chicken coops or pens-especially in the later part of the 19th century.
One of my favorite resources for this topic is The People's Practical Poultry Book; A work on the breeds, breeding, rearing, and general management of poultry. It was written in 1871 by William Lewis a man who really knew his poultry.

Lewis described in detail over a dozen different coops in his book all with their own particular advantages. The barrel and close coops are good for someone who has little means as they don't require much work to put together. Where as the Rhode Island  and Virginia Poultry Houses are for those who would rather have more of a permitted structure for their flock.

He seemed to favor coops that were movable, rat proof, and economical. I found it interesting that Lewis recommended that coops should be made without a floor so that they could me moved from place to place. Not having a floor was a benefit because it saved on costs for the floor, food, and help to keep bugs down. It also allowed the chickens to dust themselves more in the dirt which "help to keep off the vermin."  Apparently this idea of Chicken Farming, by moving the coop every few days, is not a new one!

The Corn Crib

However the most impressive of directions for a chicken coop can be found on page 116. The Octagon Poultry House is just what is sounds like. It is a chicken coop that is built to be in the shape of an octagon and can house up to thirty birds. The building is ten feet wide by six feet tall and sit on legs that raise it about a foot in the air. The picture in the book (above) shows that their are several windows to help with ventilation and even a weathervane on the top. Talk about classy!

Alas I would have no such Octagon Poultry Mansion!

Before & After

Our old farm house sits on two acres and has an even older barn. Attached to barn is a rickety old corn crib. Some time ago, someone decided to make park of it a tool shed. They closed up one end, added a door, and lined the entire inside with wood.

This was to be the coop. It took a while to clean out but once it was it really was not too terribly far off from what was recommended in the 1871 publication. In Lewis's instructions for a "Rhode Island Poultry House" he says that " The house may be built of pine boards, or may be clapboarded and plastered with lime; in either case it should have a good plank floor."

The Run

 

One of the things we decided early on was that the hens would have an enclosed outdoor area to run around in rather then free-ranging on the property. At the moment we do not have a rooster to protect them and we have a problem with predators-mainly raccoons.

Lewis says "We find in the Practical Poultry Keeper what is termed therein a wire-covered run for chickens, and is deemed by the author a sensible way to keep young chicks from being destroyed by cats or rats." We took this advice and made an enclosed run for our hens to be out in. Also realizing that it is probably nor going to keep a raccoon out at night, we shut the door to the inside of their coop once the sun goes down.

The top of the run is covered to provide shade and there is plenty of grass and dirt for them to dig around in. My husband also chose to put a door on fence so we can easily get in and out of the run. Needless to say I am still pretty impressed by how good it looks.

If your not careful a few raccoons
can wipe out an entire flock. So it's
important to wither keep them out
or get rid of them completely.
Two in one trap! Told you
we had a raccoon problem.

One thing that we did that was not recommended is that we decided to cover the original wood planking so as to protect it from the chicken manure and any moisture. Originally, I wanted to cover the floor with tar paper and tack it down. However my father owns a flooring store and had a small piece of laminate flooring that he let us have for the floor. It works very well. After we got the laminate installed, I put down some cedar chips and straw for the bedding.

Our Girls and their Coop

Since we first got our “girls” a few weeks ago, we have also added a sliding door on to the small opening that goes out into the chicken run. With this we are able to shut the coop up at night without having to enter it. We also added a  simple wire screen door on the outside to allow for greater circulation during the hot summer days.

I think our pullets, female chickens under a year old, are happy with the arrangement and although our set up is not 100% historically accurate we did what many of our ancestors would have done. We made do with what we had and it works for us.

Resources Used:
All pictures are my own or where available under Public Domain

 

Our Feathered Friends: Chicken Breeds 1800-1900

If you’re looking to start a 100% historically accurate flock of your own, one that focuses on several diverse breeds from a certain time period, you might be disappointed. Up until the latter half of the 19^th century, the average household flock would have been fairly deluded.

This is because purebred birds would have more likely of been found in or near ports cities. When the birds were taken or traded further inland, the more diluted the breed become as the birds gradually mix with other chickens. This was unless of course there was more of an effort to keep the breed pure that is.

More affluent farmers, those who had the means, or those with an interests in birds (mainly cockfighting) would have been more likely to keep and refine a certain breed of fowl for one reason or another. Still, this does not mean that farmers of lesser means would never have had a pure bred chicken as chickens were often used in trade. The purest chickens of the time would have been game birds, especially in the south though many of these breeds have been lost to time.
It’s also important to keep in mind that those who raised chickens did so for more for the eggs and not necessarily for just the meat. Yes, cockerels, male chickens under a year old, were generally fattened up and eaten when they were hatched but breeding came from the desire for bigger eggs not for bigger “monster” chickens.

So if you still want a flock just as the average farmer would have had in the early or mid-1800’s then go with a flock of crossbred game birds. But if you would like to have a flock that focuses on popular breeds of a certain era, then I say go for it! Even by raising a few chickens you would be helping to preserve a heritage breed of poultry as well as a small bit of our history. I find that pretty amazing!

Below is a quick list of some poultry breeds from 1800-1900 many of which are threatened.

Dominque 19th Century Image

Breeds 1800-1840’s

Dominque
It is believed that the Dominque was imported from what is today Haiti and is recognized as America’s first chicken breed. They were fairly common in the American colonies as early as 1750 but really took off in the 1820’s. 


Dorking
This chicken is famous for being good layers, quality meat, and five toes. They come in several varieties with the white colored Dorking being the oldest, having originated sometime before 43 A.D. The breed came to America before 1840 and were entered in their first poultry show in 1849. In 1904 they were the most popular breed in England and are known to be a fairly docile breed.

Java

The Java Chicken came to the United States sometime after 1835 but before 1850. They come in
four colors with the black having a green sheen to it. They were prized for their high quality of meat and egg production.

                                                                Plymouth Rock

Queenie, our barred Plymouth Rock pullet

There are seven different varieties of Plymouth Rock Chickens but the barred variety was the first to be developed. This breed was first exhibited in Boston, Massachusetts in 1849 and then after disappearing for a while before reappearing in 1869 in Worchester. It was a very popular breed of chicken until after World War II.



Polish Chicken 19th Century Image

 Polish
Contrary to the name the Polish chicken did not originate in Poland. It is believed that these birds were brought from Spain and then to Holland before coming to America sometime in the 1830’s. This breed was kept primarily for its egg laying and by the 1850’s they were fairly widespread.

 

Breeds 1850’s-1869

Andalusian Chicken

Andalusian
Sometime between 1850 and 1855 this breed came from England to the United States. This chicken has a distinct blue feathers and white earlobes. They are known as wonderful foragers and lay a large number of eggs.





Buttercup
Although Buttercups came to America from Sicily in 1835 it was documented as being sold in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1860 amongst neighbors when they has become more common. They are also known as the “Flowerbird” because of its coloring and the two single combs that merge in front over its beak.

Hamburg Chicken Varieties

 

Hamburg

The Hamburg is an old breed. It originated in Holland sometime before the 1300’s and were developed into the Silver Penciled and the Golden Penciled varieties. In 1785 they made their way to England and arrived in America around 1856.

 

 

Redcap

From the early 1800’s until the middle of the century, the Redcap was one of the most profitable birds on the English market. The breed was brought over before 1870 and was prized for its high egg production

Breeds 1870’s-1900

Orpington

This chicken was bred to be a good layer with good quality of meat.  It was developed in 1886 in London and showed up in a Madison Square Garden in 1895

 

Wyandotte Chickens 19th century image

Wyandotte

This breed was developed in the United States in the 1870’s and appears in 15 different varieties. They really started to take off in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

Rhode Island Red

This is one of the most well-known American breeds
of chicken. They were first developed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1880’s. They are famous for their large brown eggs and the fact that they can lay 200 to 300 eggs a year.

Buckeye Hen and Rooster 1910 Image

Buckeye
These birds have been developed to be cold-weather tolerant and have the distinction of being developed by a woman. Nettie Metcalf lived in Warren, Ohio in the late 1800’s and was looking to develop a bird that would be more tolerant to Ohio’s cold winters and hot summers. Her breed was introduced something in the late 1890’s and it really took off. Though often confused with the Rhode Island Red, these birds have their own characteristics and are not as aggressive.

 

Jersey Giant

Jersey Giants were developed between 1870 and 1890 by two brothers from, where else, New Jersey. The brothers wanted to develop a bird that would eventually replace the turkey and breed these birds to weigh up to 13 pounds a bird.

 

NOTE: All images used were either taken by me or belong to public domain but still please check with me before using an image just to be safe!

Sources Used

The Livestock Conservancy

Backyard Poultry Magazine

More sources available on request