Need a history lesson; when did keeping chickens become unpopular?

[desertdarlene]

My grandfather was the "egg and dairy man" in Detroit back in the twenties through about the fifties. I don't remember if he raised them in his backyard and he's no longer alive, so I can't ask, but I think he did. But, Detroit was way different that it grew to be by the time I was born. There was a lot more open land and small farms when my grandfather was a boy. I think backyard chicken keeping went away as populations became more dense and compacted in the city.

 

[TrystInn]

People moved to cities where idiotic city councilmembers outlawed chicken keeping. I live in a seriously decrepit old beach community and they've tried (unsuccessfully) to outlaw chickenkeeping due to some ridiculous, stuck up concept that all of our coops are bringing down the home values. Meanwhile, people keep scrap cars in the front yards, live in manufactured homes and have rat infestiations. Except for us chicken keepers, so we ignore the community council entirely.

 

[Tala]

I also think that as commercial farms became popular, chicken farms got the reputation for stinking so badly. My back yard chickens certainly do not stink like that, but if you'll notice one of the first things people say about chickens is "they stink"

 

[donnavee]

Quote:
You are absolutely right! We were talking to some friends in AL the other day, mentioned we now had chickens and the husband said he remembered driving past the big commercial chicken houses in FL as a kid and how bad they smelled. I explained we keep our poo cleaned up, give the chickens lots of room and only smell poo when we step in it

 

[Adventurefamily5]

It only takes a generation...

My paternal grandparents had a small piece of rural property and had a garden, chickens, and meat cows. My parents lived right next door and ate the cows and chickens from their farm, but they mostly shopped at the grocery store for their food. We only ate "real food" from grandma's house. Oh how wonderful the hamburger was, and how rich the milk was! I was only 5, but I remember.

Anyway, one day, a chicken truck passed by on the interstate in front of our house. We lived in a white house off of I-85 in SC, just south of the "Peach." House is still there. So, a hen fell off the truck and my brother and sisters quickly adopted it as a "pet" and named it Henrietta. My maternal grandmother came from Germany to visit, and while they were at school she fixed dinner. Guess who was dinner? The kids were appalled that you would eat a "pet" and refused to eat dinner.

It only takes a generation not raised on a farm or even around one to be ignorant. I lived in a very rural town where I thought everyone was a farmer. One day, a kid at high school mentioned that cows don't have hair. "They feel like a wallet, you know, smooth," he informed me. Either his dad was breeding some funky wallet cows, or he'd never been close to one his whole life. I thought it was funny, but he lived in a farm town and was ignorant. What would you expect of "city folks" when they say chickens stink. And the chicken farms most certainly DO!

 

[heather112588]

as long as you keep the coop in your yard(your property/out of neighbor sight), keep it clean and don't make waves to annoy people (like having a roo), whats their problem really? maybe you can sell the tough neighbors by giving a few fresh eggs?

 

[Flavum]

Great Thread!

Anyone know where i can find that article posted on the first page? It was taken down from the site.

I love hearing your guys old family stories, and how people lived back then! Sounds like better times to me.
My grandfather was born in a tar papered shack with no running water until he was a senior in high school. Family kept a small flock of chickens as well as dairy cattle.


He likes to tell a story where his mom would tell him to put on his work boots and they would go down to the chicken house where apparently rats had been getting into the feed and were the sizes of squirrels. His mom would scare them out of corners and he would jump on them with his boots.

Was a different time back then. Now we consider ourselves more refined humans beings and decide to kill them with mechanical traps or poison.

I have been trying to find information on poultry keeping from that time period, I'm curious as to how people dealt with or didn't deal with things like parasites and worms? If someone could point me in that direction I would be grateful.

EDIT: Alright think I found that article http://www.americanheritage.com/content/chicken-story?

Amazing read, should be stickied for historical purposes.

 

[Mikedero]

So how did the meeting go?