old poultry book

[mightieskeeper]

I have been reading an old book called 200 eggs per year a hen. The book is published in 1904. They author talks about 10 square feet of floor space for a hen. The author lets his birds out every morning to forage and they stay out all day. Does anyone give there hens this kind of space? Ryan

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Not quite sure what you mean, but many of us give them a lot *more*, is that what you're asking?

Pat

 

[BeccaOH]

I've always heard 4 square feet for in the coop. You would need more if the hens were inside all day, though. Since they are foraging all day, I'd think less than 4 may even work as long as there is lots of roosting area.

 

[NYREDS]

I don't & don't know antone who does. 200 eggs a year may have been good in 1904 but it's nothing to brag about now.

 

[al6517]

I have found that the more room I give them the better they thrive and fend off illnesses, Not to mention they look just super healthy.

AL

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I'm not going to get into hairsplitting about what "know" means... but you certainly DO know of a lot of people who do, as there are a bunch on BYC

That doesn't mean a person *has* to do it, of course, but that is'nt what the o.p. asked about.

200 eggs a year may have been good in 1904 but it's nothing to brag about now.

Ah, but it would still be something to brag about if you restricted yourself to 1904 breeds/lines of chickens and avoided any feeds and nutritional knowledge dated post-1904.

Respect yer elders, they may not have been right about everything but were not complete chimps either

Pat​

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
I'm not going to get into hairsplitting about what "know" means... but you certainly DO know of a lot of people who do, as there are a bunch on BYC

That doesn't mean a person *has* to do it, of course, but that is'nt what the o.p. asked about.

200 eggs a year may have been good in 1904 but it's nothing to brag about now.

Ah, but it would still be something to brag about if you restricted yourself to 1904 breeds/lines of chickens and avoided any feeds and nutritional knowledge dated post-1904.

Respect yer elders, they may not have been right about everything but were not complete chimps either

Pat​

And who doesn't miss the Outhouse & the button hook?

 

[possumqueen]

I'll tell ya what I miss! My little hand held, non electric egg beater died the other day, and NO ONE SELLS THEM ANYMORE!!!!

Got it for $3.00 in 1980. Don't remember where. Finally found one at Wal Mart for $13 freakin' dollars, for Pete's sake!!!!

And what, pray tell, is a button hook??????

 

[ivan3]

In Milo Hasting's 1911 book, The Dollar Hen, a smaller area per hen was suggested (pretty prickly about it):

The exact style of the house I leave to the reader's own plan. Were I recommending complex houses costing several dollars per hen, this certainly would be leaving the reader in the dark woods. With houses of the kind described it is hard to go far amiss. The simplest form is a double pitched roof, the ridge-pole standing about seven feet high, and the walls about four. The house is made eight by sixteen, and one end--not the side--left open. For the house that man is to enter, this form cannot be improved upon.

This house should accommodate seventy-five or eighty hens

There have been books and books written on poultry houses, but what I have just given is sufficient poultry-house knowledge for the Dollar Hen man. If he hasn't enough intelligence to put this into practice, he has no business in the hen business. Additional book-knowledge of hen-houses is useless; it may be harmful.

If you are sure that you are fool-proof, you may get Dr. Feather or Reverend Earlobe's "Book of Poultry House Plans." It will be a good text-book for the children's drawing lessons.

He also listed avg. # of eggs per hen, by state, from the 1900 census: Louisiana was at the bottom: 40 per hen, while Maine came in on top with 100 per hen, so two hundred would have been grand.

You can download book here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13254

But, 60yr. before that was written Maubry notes, in his book Treatise On Ornamental and Domestic Poultry, these figures for England (not counting domestic production):

Download here: http://www.archive.org/details/moubraystreatis00wintgoog

Not too shabby for the place and time.​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I don't & don't know antone who does. 200 eggs a year may have been good in 1904 but it's nothing to brag about now.

And who doesn't miss the Outhouse & the button hook?

Depends on what you are after. One thing I miss is when somebody asks a legit question like the OP did here and doesn't get a grumpy/ snotty answer. The BYC way is to help people and offer any help we can

Steve in NC​