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Backyard Chickens – Then and Now

Mr. Quackers — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:00:32 +0000

In her book, Iva Wells writes about her regular experience with mail order chickens through the decades.

On a recent visit to our family farm, I encountered an autobiography written by Iva Wells, a neighbor and family friend. She is a woman has lived in northern Minnesota and North Dakota of her life and has chosen to recollect some of her farming lifestyle memories throughout her years. Of her many trials and triumphs living the agrarian ideal, Iva writes about purchasing, receiving, and raising chickens. Here is an excerpt from her book Family Life on a Reservation Farm: The Autobiography of Iva Wells.

Chickens and Eggs

To supplement the income from the cattle, most farm women had a flock of chickens to raise and tend. Every spring, one could walk into most rural post offices and hear the peeping of baby chicks, which had arrived through the mail. The chicks were usually in groups of 25 within each of 4 compartments in a cardboard box with small holes for ventilation. The chicks were a common spring sound in the post office as they waited to be picked up by the farmer. They had probably been on the road from the hatchery for two days. They would be in good condition with very few fatalities because they lived those first few days from the yolk of the egg, from which they were hatched.

Jim built a very nice “brooder house” for my baby chicks which would be their until fall. This brooder house was kept warm by an oil stove with a metal skirt called a “hover” around it. I always ordered 400 chickens every March. As soon as I would get them home, I would take them into the warm brooder house and one at a time, I would dip their beaks in warm water and then let them run to a feeder where they would immediately begin to pick and eat food.

The chicks would gather and lay under the hover to keep warm. The temperature had to be kept at a warm, even heat to prevent the chicks from crowding together in a pile and suffocating the ones on the bottom. Since it was only March, we could and often did have some vicious snowstorms that had me worrying all night about those little baby chicks! I would wonder if the stove was heating properly or if the strong winds had blown out the flame!

Some March storms were worse than others. One year, I had many sleepless nights and I would get up, dress, and walk in knee-deep snow every 2 hours to check on the chicks!

A backyard chicken flock from some time ago

It is interesting to see the decades old tradition of mail-order chicks from a historical perspective. The logistics and concerns of receiving chicks remains largely the same – chicks are hatched and shipped the through the postal service, their two-day journey is supported by the nutritious yolk, and warmth is the key for young poultry. However, much of the technology has changed in the process – mail order catalogs are being replaced with eCommerce poultry websites, planes now fly many young birds to their destinations, and electric heat systems now take the place of coops heated by an oil stove.

The practice of raising chickens and other poultry has been a source of income, food, and fulfillment for countless generations. As Americans look for ways to be more environmentally friendly, economically self-sufficient, and nutritionally more in-touch, examples such as these prove that we often need not look any further than the agrarian practices of the past to find guidance for the future.

What has @DuckInfo been tweeting about? Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-15

Mr. Quackers — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:59:00 +0000

Check out the movie Valentine's Day which features ducklings from eFowl.com http://fb.me/5kFRIAk #
In the Movie Valentine's Day the Real Stars are the Ducklings – http://tinyurl.com/yehr2xs (via @DuckInfo) #
http://icio.us/bcdug2 #
In the Movie Valentine's Day the Real Stars are Ducklings: http://digg.com/d31Iif9?t #

In the Movie Valentine’s Day the Real Stars are the Ducklings

Mr. Quackers — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:03:51 +0000

The Valentine’s Day movie is packed full of celebrities which cater to all demographics and tastes. From Patrick Dempsey and Jessica Alba, to Julia Roberts and Jamie Foxx. However, the real stars of the movie are the little ducklings which make perhaps the most picturesque shot in the movie.

While Valentine's Day was packed full of big Hollywood stars, the ducklings were the ones to steal the show.

As the movie draws to a close and the topsy turvy convolutions of characters and subplots are being resolved, we see the lovable floralist (played by Ashton Kutcher) tossing the unsold flower petals into a stream from a bridge. He is reflecting on the transpirations of the day, when he sees 4 little ducklings swim through the petals on the water. While the ducklings’ moment in the Hollywood spotlight is brief, they definitely steal the show with their cuteness.

Where did the producers of this film obtain the ducklings they sought after to convey the film’s emotions? They purchased their birds from eFowl.com – the web’s leader in ducks and chickens for sale. The breeds of the birds which swam by were 2 Pekins and 2 Rouens. These are both domesticated breeds, and what domestic ducklings would be doing in an LA creek on their own in the middle of the night is perhaps a detail left best unquestioned. From the size of the birds, they look to be about 3-4 weeks old when the filming took place.

eFowl.com frequently supplies animal training companies with animal actors for everything from major Hollywood movies to local commercials.

What has @DuckInfo been tweeting about? Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-18

Mr. Quackers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Further Understanding Capitalism from Scrooge McDuck as Seen on Saturday Night Live – http://tinyurl.com/yhsxhct (via @DuckInfo) #
@thebestnestnz What kind of duck do you have? Did it survive the night? in reply to thebestnestnz #
Please do not let ducks get into neighbors' fountains. http://bit.ly/3BAFgf #
@Podchef That's awesome! What kind of ducks do you have? in reply to Podchef #
@thebestnestnz I'm sorry to hear about your mallard. It can be difficult to raise wild mallards as pets. in reply to thebestnestnz #
RT @TJTutten: Help! My Neighbor’s Pet Ducks Won’t Stay Out Of My Garden Fountain…?: http://bit.ly/CJYKU #
@Podchef Cool. Would you mind if I posted that video on FowlBlog.com? in reply to Podchef #
RT @Podchef: Rouen Ducks: http://bit.ly/qwsYJ RT @DuckInfo: @Podchef That's awesome! What kind of ducks do you have? #

What has @DuckInfo been tweeting about? Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-11

Mr. Quackers — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:59:00 +0000

RT @FlowersAndFruit: Folklore, Magic and Myths of Gardening – http://tinyurl.com/ya4pf9g #
Folklore, Magic and Myths of Gardening: http://digg.com/d316NtA?t #
Any idea what breed it was? RT @peterfawcett: random fact: i had a pet duck once, it was a baby duckling and i named him chirpy #
Thanks! RT @englishchick: rt @aJayBoulder Folklore, Magic and Myths of Gardening: http://digg.com/d316NtA?t #
Want a Green Alternative to Herbicides and Pesticides? Try Garden Ducks – http://tinyurl.com/yawa5vn (via @DuckInfo) #
Ducks: A Green Alternative to Herbicides and Pesticides: http://digg.com/d316PK8?t #
@denisereg I'm so sorry to hear that… in reply to denisereg #
How do I care for a pet duck in the Winter? – http://tinyurl.com/koyegk (via @DuckInfo) #
How to care for a pet duck in the Winter?: http://digg.com/d316WJB?t #
Winter is coming…are your birds okay? http://bit.ly/A01Bf #
http://bit.ly/1meKiB #
Want a Green Alternative to Herbicides and Pesticides? Try Garden Ducks – http://tinyurl.com/yawa5vn (via @DuckInfo) #
Common Ground: Top 10 Beginner Medical Spanish Errors: http://digg.com/d316nsq?t #
@emmapeachey do you know what breed of ducks you have? in reply to EmmaPeachey #
@EmmaPeachey that's awesome! are you going to breed them? in reply to EmmaPeachey #
RT @EmmaPeachey: http://twitpic.com/kzz7p – My ducks!! My 2 are the White one and the Black one!! #
What breed was Chirpy? RT @peterfawcett: random fact: i had a pet duck once, it was a baby duckling and i named him chirpy #
@EmmaPeachey Cool. I write a blog about keeping pet ducks at http://www.FowlBlog.com . I'd love for you to check it out! in reply to EmmaPeachey #