Chickens on Television Show Little House on the Prairie

[Fred's Hens]

I'm watching it right now.

There's more than few "errors" of course. The breeds they are showing all the time would only lay brown eggs, but Mrs. Ingalls often has a mixed basket to sell. She sold eggs at Christmas time in a recent show, when her hens would not likely be laying and would be in moult just before Christmas. Stuff like that.

It doesn't matter. It's a great old show. Chickens feature in most of the episodes.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Well, I was thinking in historical terms, if the show is historically correct. On the TV show there were several different breeds of chickens. I am guessing they didn't worry too much about chicken breeds for the TV show.

I doubt that they thought anyone would care whether the chicken breeds were historically correct or not. Lol. So yeah, I saw several different chicken breeds in that show also.

 

[Bullitt]

There's more than few "errors" of course. The breeds they are showing all the time would only lay brown eggs, but Mrs. Ingalls often has a mixed basket to sell. She sold eggs at Christmas time in a recent show, when her hens would not likely be laying and would be in moult just before Christmas. Stuff like that.

If I were dependent on chickens, I would hatch out chicks every spring. First-year chickens will lay eggs right through their first winter. So that may not be a mistake in the TV show.

 

[eenie114]

I thought it was really funny in the episode where the girls stay with Mr. Edwards while Charles and Caroline go on a trip where Laura and Mary freak out because they forgot to bring in the eggs, and if they didn't bring them in RIGHT THAT MINUTE the hens would brood.
Kinda cool that it was sort of accurate, though. Back then the hens wouldn't be being bred for mass egg production and so they would be a little more likely to go broody if they were allowed to make a nice stash of eggs.

 

[Bullitt]

That's the episode when Mr. Edwards babysits the girls. Mr. Edwards has Carrie on the roof while he is working. Mary tells Mr. Edwards that Carrie is too little to be on the roof. Mr Edwards replies, don't worry, I nailed her dress to the roof so she won't fall off.

 

[eenie114]

I've got to remember to try that sometime.

 

[Lothiriel]

That's the episode when Mr. Edwards babysits the girls. Mr. Edwards has Carrie on the roof while he is working. Mary tells Mr. Edwards that Carrie is too little to be on the roof. Mr Edwards replies, don't worry, I nailed her dress to the roof so she won't fall off.

I've really got to watch more of them.

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, I was thinking in historical terms, if the show is historically correct. On the TV show there were several different breeds of chickens. I am guessing they didn't worry too much about chicken breeds for the TV show.

Maybe they did, and maybe they didn't. There is a movie studio here in Wilmington, and a few of my animals have been used in the odd movie or TV show. I can't say for "Little House" specifically, but with period pieces, some production companies try really hard to be historically accurate, and others, not so much. One time they wanted chickens of a particular color. The only thing I had that even came close were some Bantam Cochins. They were concerned that they would look too "fancy," so we wound up trimming the feathers off the chickens' feet.

(the feathers grew back in with the next molt, of course!) Another time, when a particular animal simply wasn't available, they did some last-minute changes and wrote it out. Some times, you just have to "go with the flow."

 

[EweSheep]

That's the episode when Mr. Edwards babysits the girls. Mr. Edwards has Carrie on the roof while he is working. Mary tells Mr. Edwards that Carrie is too little to be on the roof. Mr Edwards replies, don't worry, I nailed her dress to the roof so she won't fall off.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I can't imagine any family in survival mode- as they all were at that time- would bother to breed a specific breed. The Doc got a chicken here and there in payment. He gave Pa just the first 4 he could catch. Chickens multiplied by brooding and hiding clutches and we all know how well we can choose that! ( Wonder how the roosters survived for breeding before the stewpot got them.) I'll bet only the strong survived and multiplied just like the wild mustangs and farm dogs. It was only the well-to-do who could afford the luxury of specific breeding.
Although, I would not put it past the housewife who found a broody nest to put in the eggs she wanted the broody to hatch. First, find the nest.