MUSCOVIES, South American Water Fowl©

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Muscovy

The case of the Muscovy water fowl of South America is not the first time I’ve looked at archaeology books for a look at poultry origins although they might seem an odd place to look.  Sometimes one of the best records comes from these sources.  Silverman and Isbell noted they were kept by natives in South and Central America prior to Columbus’ second voyage in 1494 and Roberts likewise documented them through Diego Alvarez Chanca in 1494.  [The latter was a Spanish physician and companion of Christopher Columbus.]  By 1555 they were documented in Europe and, “in the lesser Antilles, along the Caribbean shores of South America, and into Honduras and Mexico”.  They attribute the culture of the Muscovy to the Aztecs.

In 1891, H. S. Babcock wrote in “American Agriculturist” that Muscovies were rarely seen in New England and the Northern states, but were kept in larger percentages the farther South one traveled.  There he said the Pekins, Cayugas, and Rouens common in the North were much fewer in number while Southern farms with Muscovies were plentiful.

Martin Brady with Ralph.  Ralph and his mate Alice are our first pair of Muscovies.

In 1810, “A Treatise on the Breeding, Rearing, and Fattening of Poultry” was translated from French to English where a passage notes that the Muscovy, “stocks the farm-yards of our colonies; it has long been brought into ours [in France], where it proves profitable. . . “.  France held an enormous amount of land during this time and the book did not specify whether the colonies in question were in America, Canada, or elsewhere.  The fact that the author did not specify; however, tends to infer the statement was aimed at the whole of the French colonies.

It is a distinct species from all known varieties of duck, therefore, not actually a duck at all.  As with the mule, any progeny of a Muscovy and a duck is sterile.  Early European breeders did sometimes encourage the mating of Muscovies and common ducks because the young matured quicker and made it to the table with less expense in feed.  Unlike ducks, the female Muscovy usually weighs in at about half the weight of the male and the tail feathers of the Muscovy drake do not have the signature curl of ducks.

Muscovy hens will build nests on the ground or in tree branches and both male and female are capable of flight.  English poultry author, Lewis Wright, was quoted describing the Muscovy as having a fowl temperament, however, this author has found her Muscovies to be rather more gentle than many of her Pekins and Rouens.  Mr. Babcock said in his article he found them to be quite the opposite as well.

Female Muscovies are known to be good sitters and have been used as incubators of chicken, duck and turkey eggs in France, Australia, and other countries, Australians reporting better hatch rates under Muscovy hens than under chickens or in mechanical incubators.  Muscovy eggs take 35 days to hatch.  When hens are about to sit they line their nests with feathers and down which they use to cover their eggs when they leave the nest to feed.  Your author’s biggest challenge in raising chicks of any sort is protecting the chicks from fire ants.

All primary sources consulted echo the sentiment that the Muscovy is a prolific breeder, and a voracious eater, but because it forages well and is not particular what it consumes it was considered profitable to rear.  It was agreed the Muscovy was found in the wild only in South America and in early sources was commonly called the Barbary or Guinea-duck.  Another commonality is that the Muscovy can have a strong musky smell from glands near its rump and it was advised to remove that area and the head as soon as the bird is killed, as opposed to the historical practice of allowing poultry to hang to age.  “It is then a very good dish, and as succulent as the wild duck”.

See:  “Southern Agriculturist and Register of Rural Affairs”.  Southern section of the United States.  Jan. 1831 and 1847.  “Treatise on the Breeding, Rearing, and Fattening of Poultry Chiefly Translated From the New French Dictionary on Natural History”.  London.  1810. Silverman, Helaine and Isbell, William.  “Handbook of South American Archaeology”.  2008.  Roberts, Victoria.  “British Poultry Standards”.  2008.

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Poultry Waterers

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chicken waterer, poultry waterers

In some strange manner it intrigues me when I have a problem with poultry keeping and in doing random research find the same problem discussed a hundred years or more ago.  Such was the case with chicken waterers.  We try to use the type in which the container is filled while upside down, the base affixed, then the waterer flipped so that the water trickles out into the base as needed.  It works well usually although I confess to less than 100% comprehension of the principle by which it works even after Dear Husband has explained it multiple times, but it does not work well in a small confined space.

The problem with this system is that in a small space a hen with young chicks fills the base with dirt.  In her never-ending scratching the hen plows through the sandy earth flinging the soil behind into the base of the waterer and in short order the whole contraption is completely and hopelessly clogged with no access to water.

Someone identifying himself as “Cock of the Walk”, did a review of this type waterer in 1873 and described exactly the same issue.  He concluded with, “Now sir, you will excuse this long tirade when I say that my object is to request some of your correspondents to inform me if I have proved myself incapable “to run the machine,” and that he will inform me if there is to be found anything better and more efficiently adapted to the purpose of supplying water for chickens in coops.”  While this gentleman’s waterer was made of crockery and ours is plastic the principle is the same, and no, dear sir, all these years later we are still plagued with this inadequacy.

Just as today poultry keepers were always searching for a better waterer and as often as not they fashioned one from materials found about the home place just as we do.  “I have about a peck of good fresh sugar-trough gourd seed that I dislike to destroy.  If any one will send a two-cent stamp for mailing a package I will send some seeds free.  The gourds are large, convenient, and useful.  They make cheap and excellent troughs for watering chickens. . .”.  I suspect gourds have served as drinking vessels for countless generations.

Prior to the second half of the Victorian era one of the best sources of information is early Dutch paintings.  Many of the paintings feature a natural water source – a spring, small creek, pond, etc. – which leads me to believe in those days prior to modern plumbing such sources may have been so common poultry simply drank from the stream or pond.  The closest thing I’ve found to a waterer from the 18^th century or earlier is a shallow redware dish in a few of the paintings.

My usual closing, “Blissful Meals”, isn’t especially appropriate but I’ll say it anyway.  I hope you enjoyed the piece.

Bib:  Poultry World.  Aug. 1881; Gleanings in Bee Culture.  April 1, 1893.

BREED FOR HEALTH AS WELL AS TRAITS©

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breeding poultry, National Poultry Improvement Plan, NPIP

In 1935 the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) was introduced to ensure the health and well-being of American flocks and since then has grown to include 49 states who seek to regulate the health of chickens and other poultry including game breeds and show birds.  At least for backyard flocks participation in NPIP is voluntary, probably appealing to those who may want to sell or trade birds more so than to someone with three hens in suburbia kept for eggs and companionship.  For commercial growers NPIP means Americans can expect healthy birds to set on their dinner tables.

Even with NPIP to encourage biosecurity measures and healthy habits common sense goes a long way in raising poultry.  The best example I can think of is for breeding top quality Americaunas with the trademark muffs and beards, red earlobes, wattles and combs one would naturally choose parents with the best of all of these characteristics as breeding stock rather than purchasing a mixed breed and hoping for that one chick that might possess the desired traits.

Perusing the online Breeders Directory makes a lot more sense than shopping flea markets and taking chances with the lineage of breeding stock.  If one’s only interest is eggs for the table then by all means choose whatever appeals to the senses, but if there is any desire for producing quality chicks for sale or show then step up your game and research breeders and breeds.  Now, let’s see what grandpa might have advised.

It is one of the well-known laws of heredity that “like produces like,”—what is bred in the fowl will out in the chick.  The tendencies to certain habits are readily transmitted from parent to offspring and when handed down for a number of generations, the tendency becomes more firmly fixed.

To have healthy poultry we should breed for health as carefully as for any desired standard point.  Breeding for health should be in the foremost consideration since with the habit of health firmly fixed in the flock we have a solid bed-rock foundation on which to build up a strain well fitted to develop all other desirable qualities.  Breeding for health should begin not alone with the parent stock, but if possible with the grandparents.

In selecting breeding stock be sure to accept only strong, vigorous, healthy specimens, birds which are well developed, fully matured and which have never had any serious illness. . . No matter how good a specimen a bird may be, if it is not mature, does not possess size, vigor and a sound constitution, do not permit it to take a place in the breeding pen. . . Spending several dollars worth time and medicine in an attempt to cure a dollar bird, thereby endangering the health of the balance of the flock, is suicidal policy. . .

Inbreeding is bad practice.  Hereditary tendencies possessed alike by both parents are prone to be exaggerated in the chicks.  For this reason never mate males and females possessing the same fault.

Additions to the poultry yard should be made with the greatest care, both as to the choice of birds to be introduced so far as their breeding and characteristics are concerned, and their state of health.  It is to be pointed out that frequently a strange bird has been the means of introducing disease into a previously healthy yard—disease that has taken months to eradicate.  The system adopted by careful breeders is to keep purchased fowls by themselves for two or three weeks, so that any incipient disease may have time to declare itself and that the condition of the bird may be fully observed.

Bib:  Reliable Poultry Remedies.  1913.  “Poultry-keeping as an Industry for Farmers and Cottagers”.  1906.

National Poultry Improvement  Plan, 1506 Klondike Rd., Suite 101, Conyers, GA  30094, 770-922-3496.

The Celebrated Bremen Geese of Ten Hills Farm©

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Bremen geese, large breed geese

Researching who was “the” first to introduce something to North America is a very laborious process, and one for which there is sometimes no definitive answer.  In previous centuries, when someone encountered a new plant or animal, it was to them, the first, but because there was no instantaneous exchange of information it may have simply been the first that they knew of, and not necessarily the first to arrive on our shores.  The Emden goose is just such a case.  Two men have been credited with introducing the geese to the U.S., both of whom were capable breeders, but only one could have been the first.

First, we should note that in the earliest years of the 19^th century the Emden was known as the Bremen goose in America because that was the port from which they were shipped.  The town of Bremen had no more to do with raising geese than any other European town of the day.  Nevertheless, to research the earliest North American history of the Emden is to search for the Bremen.

The port at Bremen, Germany is one of the oldest and most successful in Europe.  Market rights were conferred on Bremen in 965 and the increase in mercantile activities brought about an economic boom by 1358.  By the 18^th century it was a major point of departure for emigrants and cargo alike.

Two accounts published prior to 1823 say Mr. James Sisson of Warren, Rhode Island imported geese.  The first did not specify what part of Europe the geese came from or what they were called.

“The Plough Boy and Journal of the Board of Agriculture”, [Dec. 23, 1820] contained the following brief notice.  “James Sisson, Esq., of Warren, has lately received from the north of Europe two pairs of geese, of such size that when fatted and dressed they frequently weigh upwards of 30 pounds a piece”.

The second piece from the “American Farmer”, Sept. 13, 1822, said Mr. Sisson had geese “brought from Bremen” (the port) in Nov., 1822; it still did not call them the Bremen geese or say where they were raised.  Since Mr. Sisson, himself, gave a later date for his importation of the Bremen geese (known to the English as the Emden) his first purchase in 1820 could have been a different breed altogether.  In fact, Lewis Wright said, “The naturalists of Embden, and others, do not consider the Embden represents a distinct breed.  The geese on the north coasts of Holland and north-western Germany, and the white Flemish goose bred in Belgium and northern France, may all be considered to be of much the same race.  The ordinary birds of Friesland also resemble in many respects the variety known as Pomeranian, especially when the latter are white”.

Not nearly as much was published about Mr. Sisson as the second gentleman in our study, but he was recognized as a capable agriculturist as evidenced by an article in “The New England Farmer’s Almanac”, published Sat., August 24, 1822.  “He is always seeking improvements in what is most useful to his fellow-citizens, viz. Orchards, the introduction of new kinds of Grain, the best mode of cultivating his farm, &c.”

Almost ten years later an issue of “A New Family Encyclopaedia” contained an account of Mr. Sisson’s Bremen geese.  “They [Bremen geese] were first imported, we believe, by Mr. James Sisson, of Warren, (R. I.) who received a premium, in October, 1826, from the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, for the exhibition of some geese of this breed.”

Supporting the 1826 date for Mr. Sisson’s importing of the geese is an article from the “Genesee Farmer”, dated June 9, 1832, in which Mr. Sisson is quoted from a letter that he wrote to Mr. James Deering published in the “New England Farmer”, vol. iv page 44.  “In the fall of 1826, I imported from Bremen, (north of Germany,) 3 full blooded perfectly white geese.  I have sold their progeny for three successive seasons; the first year at $15 the pair, and two succeeding years at $12. They, “lay in February and set and hatch with more certainty than the common barnyard goose, will weigh nearly, and in some cases quite twice the weight, have double the quantity of feathers, never fly, and are all of a beautiful snowy whiteness.  I have sold them all over the interior of New-York; two or three pairs in Virginia; as many in Baltimore, North Carolina, and Connecticut, and in several towns in the vicinity of Boston.  I have one flock half-blooded that weigh on an average, when fatted, thirteen to fifteen pounds; the full blooded weigh twenty pounds”.

“Large Geese.—We yesterday saw in a wagon a pair of young geese, raised by James Sisson, Esq. of Warren, of very large size, being now only three months old.  The breed was imported from East Friesland last fall, in the ship North America, Capt. Child, who asserts these geese frequently grow to upwards of twenty pounds dressed.  They are very full of soft fine feathers, which is an article of exportation from that country, and very much sought for in Germany, Holland, and England. These geese are the first of this breed which has ever been imported into the United States.  –Prov. Pat.”  – “The New-York Farmer, and Horticultural Repository”, Vol. 1.  June 1828.

For Sisson’s geese to have been brought over the previous fall they would have come in the fall of 1827, the above article being published in June of 1828.  There are numerous accounts published from the 1830’s through the 1850’s that support the 1826/7 date.

In 1837, Mr. Sisson received a premium from the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry for his geese which he sold for $6. per pair, half what he had formerly asked.  The editor noted that Col. Jaques of the Ten Hills Stock Farm, Charlestown, Mass. offered them at the same price.  – “New England Farmer, and Horticultural Journal”.  May 23, 1837.

Here we add John Giles, of Providence, R. I. to the mix although no account was found suggesting he’d been the first to own them like the other two gentleman.  He had geese imported from Bremen at just about the same time as Mr. Sisson.  Both men advertised the geese for sale in various New England publications.  Giles was a Vice-President of the New England Society for the Improvement of Domestic Fowls as was Col. Samuel Jaques, the next subject in our discussion.  It is obvious the three men knew each other and they may have purchased stock one from another.  – “The New England Farmer”.  March 16, 1850.

John Giles was a successful livestock breeder as was evidenced by the number of times he is found on lists of premiums earned from the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry fairs.  On Sept. 26, 1844, Giles took prizes for his Leicester buck, four Leicester ewes, a Marlin boar, the best milk cow, the best three year old heifer, and the best two year old heifer. – “New England Farmer”.  Oct. 16, 1844.

Samuel Jáques, Jr., Esq. wrote in a letter from Ten Hills Farm, near Boston, dated Dec. 12, 1850, an account of Bremen geese brought to the U.S. by his father, Col. Samuel  Jáques, Sr., in 1821.  “…In the winter of 1820, a gentleman, a stranger, made a brief call at my father’s house; and, in course of conversation, casually mentioned, that, during his travels in the interior of Germany, he had noticed a pure white breed of Geese, of unusual size, whose weight, he supposed, would not fall much short of twenty-five pounds each, providing they were well fed and managed.  At that period, a friend of my father’s—the late Eben Rollins, Esq., of Boston—kept a correspondence with the house of Dallias & Co., in Bremen, and at his request, Mr. Rollins ordered, through that firm, and on my father’s account, two Ganders and four Geese of the breed mentioned by the Stranger gentleman.  The Geese arrived to order in Boston, in the month of October, 1821; and I append a copy of “Directions relative to the Geese from Bremen,” given to the captain of the ship in which they arrived.  I hold the original in my possession…

Ever since my father imported the Bremen Geese, he has kept them pure, and bred them so to a feather—no single instance having occurred in which the slightest deterioration of character could be observed.  Invariably the produce has been of the purest white—the bill, legs, and feet, of a beautiful yellow.  No solitary mark or spot has crept out on the plumage of any one specimen, to shame the true distinction they deserve of being a pure breed:  like, with them, always has produced like.  The original stock has never been out of my father’s possession; nor has he ever crossed it with any other kind, since it was imported in 1821.”

The instructions given to the captain were not of Earth-shattering importance as far as goose rearing goes, consisting mainly of notations on how large a pen it took to get the geese through the voyage without any serious injury and on feeding.  The letter written from Emden on the 17^th of August, 1821 documents the date of Jaques’ purchase.  It reads, “…they ought to have constantly fresh water in abundance; a quantity of good sand and muscle scells, [shells,] serving for their digestion, must be put into their feed-box; there ought to be always sand and straw below in their cage for litter; ls above the cage, as the birds perish otherwise by insects.  The geese must be feeded; [sic] they used to pick the straw from above down to the feet.  The Geese must be feeded with good clean oats, and sometimes with cabbage leaves.”

He gave an account of the name Bremen in his account.  “Having had the breed of Geese in question sent him from Bremen, my father named them after that place; but English writers call this variety the ‘Emden Geese’.  It will be seen from what I have stated above, that my father was the original importer of this description, and therefore is entitled to the credit of first introducing it to the United States.  It is certain that he had the Bremen Geese in his possession, at least five years prior to the time when Mr. James Sisson, of Rhode Island, imported his, and since 1821 my father has furnished this breed to many parties residing in almost every State in this Union, as also in Canada and Nova Scotia.”  – Dixon, Edmund Saul.  “A Treatise on the History and Management of Ornamental and Domestic Poultry”.

Samuel Jacques, Jr. placed an advertisement in “The New England Farmer” for 24 large Bremen Geese saying, “The original stock of these geese was imported by Ebenezer Rollins, Esq. of Boston”—the same Eben Rollins whom he said in his letter imported the geese for his father.  “The New England Farmer”, Nov. 10, 1826.

Rollins was a prominent merchant in Boston, a founder and member of the first Board of Trustees of Groveland or E. Bradford Academy, and a bank and insurance director.  No evidence was located to indicate he was involved in agriculture or animal husbandry.  He died in Havana, Cuba on March 2, 1831.

That Col. Jacques was quite knowledgeable on a number of agricultural subjects, is evidenced by a notice found in “The Farmer’s Monthly Visitor” in which the editor praised his experience and requested him to share his knowledge of milk cows with their readers.

For Samuel, Jr. to say a stranger appeared at his father’s home and told them about the geese is not at all unusual for Col Jaques owned the famous Ten Hills Farm first owned by Gov. Winthrop of Massachusetts.  The farm had been a show place for roughly two centuries by the time Col. Jaques purchased it, and because of his reputation as a knowledgeable breeder of livestock and plants, strangers appeared at his door on a regular basis, sometimes to inquire about making a purchase and at other times just to admire the efficiency with which Ten Hills Farm was run.

In his information given to Mr. Dixon for “A Treatise on the History and Management of Ornamental and Domestic Poultry”, Samuel Jacques, Jr. noted the incredible laying ability of the Bremen.  “I find, by reference to my father’s notes, that, in 1826, and in order to mark his property indelibly, he took one of his favourite imported Geese, and, with the instrument used for cutting gun-waddings, made a hole through the web of the left foot.  This was done on the 26^th of June:  and now, in 1850, the same Goose, with the perforation in her foot, is running about his poultry-yard, in as fine health and vigour as any of her progeny.  She has never failed to lay from twelve to sixteen Eggs every year, for the last twenty-seven years, and has always been an excellent breeder and nurse, as has all of the stock and offspring connected with her.  I had the curiosity to weigh one of her brood of 1849, when nine months old exactly, and his weight, in feather, sent up 22 lbs. in the opposite scale.  This hugeous Anser has been preferred to breed from, the coming season.”

Because Col. Jacques kept such immaculate records, his son was able to relay that in 1832 a bull-dog killed several of his father’s Geese, and, among them, the two Ganders originally imported after which he used their offspring to mate to the females.  He raved about the culinary standards of the Bremen saying that some of the keenest epicures of the time had declared the flesh of the Emden equal to, if not superior to, the “celebrated Canvas-back Duck”.

He went on to describe in detail how the geese were encouraged to lay, what they ate, care of the young goslings, etc., facts he would have known only by referring to the detailed diaries kept by his father.

Col. Jaques’ obituary published in “The New England Historical and Genealogical Register” in July 1859 is fascinating.  He was the fifth generation descended from Henry Jaques who came from England to settle in Newbury in 1640.  He was born in Middlesex on Sept., 12, 1776 and died at his farm on March 27 at age 83.  The obituary notes that he was particularly noted for experiments in breeding domestic animals and fruit.  He developed cows which he named Cream-pots and won numerous premiums at stock shows for cows, horses, and sheep.  He developed a peach which bore his name and he was chief marshal of a procession at the laying of the corner stone of the Bunker Hill Monument by Gen. La Fayette June 17, 1825.  He was Inspector General of Hops for Massachusetts from 1806 to 1837.  He kept a diary which numbered some forty to fifty volumes in which he claimed to have written something almost every day.

Samuel Jaques, Sr. became Col. Jaques during the War of 1812.  “Colonel Jaques, at first major, acquired his title by long service in the militia, and was engaged for a time during the hostilities of 1812 in the defense of Charlestown bay, and was stationed at Chelsea. He was in manners and habits of the type of the English country gentleman.”  – “Anecdotes”, by Mrs. Alida G. Sellers.  1901.

A brief history of the farm prior to Col Jaques’ ownership reveals the militia went to Ten Hills Farm for target practice in the summer and several times per year the grounds were open to neighbors to help themselves to cherries, pears, and other fruit from the orchards.

It was from Ten Hills that Gage’s night expedition to seize powder in the Province Magazine began in 1774.  When the Continental troops fell back from Breed’s Hill, they made a stand at Ten Hills but retreated.  The British then took control of the home using the east parlor to stable horses and the rest of the house became quarters for men and officers.

The home remained uninhabited for some time following the war until purchased by General Elias Hasket Derby in 1801.  It changed hands a few times until Col. Jaques, a descendant of Sire Rolande de Jacques, a feudal baron in Normandy, France, bought it in 1832.  Having exhibited a patriotic nature on numerous occasions, it is not surprising that he took great pride in the history of the manor house at Ten Islands.

“The holes in the east parlor where the spikes were driven in by the Englishmen to tie their horses were left unfilled, however, and, much to the disgust of the family, the colonel always showed them to his visitors by poking his fingers through the expensive paper into the holes.”  –

Someone in Col Jaques position naturally knew the movers and shakers of the day, men like Daniel Webster with whom he remained in close contact, but his company also drew the likes of the eminent biologist and geologist, Professor Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz.  Agassiz had a keen interest in natural history and is known for his work in that field.

The Bremen goose was only one of the valuable animals raised by Col. Jaques.  He was noted for his breeding of cattle, and in fact, family members felt he held fast on his deathbed until two calves were born, products of one of his last breeding experiments.  “He had been given up by the doctors weeks before, but so great was his interest in the birth of the animals that his strong will kept him alive.  They [calves] were born in the morning; in the afternoon they were washed and brought to his room.  Each in turn was lifted on the bed, and after he had examined them carefully, he laid back on his pillow and in a few hours passed away”.

As to who first imported the Bremen geese, this writer’s money is on Col Jaques because he kept such meticulous records on purchases of livestock and the details of the feeding and breeding of each animal he owned.  Mr. Sisson, on the other hand, is not documented as having produced records other than the quote in the letter to Mr. Deering and, by his own account, was sloppy in his breeding habits allowing the Bremen geese to interbreed with the common farmyard goose.  In that letter he was quoted as buying the geese some years after they were brought over by Col. Jaques.

By the late Victorian era some journals admitted that accounts giving credit to Mr. Sisson published several decades earlier had been in error.  The following quote was penned by Caleb N. Bement.  “We were always under the impression that Mr. James Sisson, of Warren, Rhode Island, was the first importer of these superior geese; but it appears incorrect from the following account published in the “New England Farmer” [the account by Sisson saying he brought over geese in 1826].

A bulletin published in February, 1897, supported Samuel Jaques, Jr.’s claim that his father was the first and quoted the letter explaining to the captain how to care for the geese Col. Jaques imported in 1821.  That editor also quoted from the letter that it was written from Emden on the 17^th of August, 1821. The next paragraph states in 1826, James Sisson, of Warren, R. I., imported a trio from Bremen, “and others were imported about the same time by John Giles of Providence, R. I.”

Bibliography:

Mrs. Alida G. Sellers (born Jaques), Boston, Mass. December 19, 1900.  Account given in Somerville. Historical Society. , 1903.

“Bulletin”.  Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Rhode Island.  Feb. 1897.

Numerous magazine and newspaper articles including those above.

New England Farmer.  April 11, 1832.

The Cultivator.  March 1845.  Albany.

Drake, Samuel Adams.  “Historic Mansions and Highways Around Boston”.  1899.

California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences.  Vol. 11, Number 15, 12 May 1859.

Bennett, Caleb.  “The American Poulterer’s Companion”.  1863.

The Boston Directory Containing the Names of the Inhabitants, their Occupations, Place of Business, and Dwelling-houses”.  Boston.  June, 1807.

Rollins, John R.  “Records of Families of the name Rawlins or Rollins in the United States.  1874.  Lawrence, Mass.

1831. S. Congress. “Register of Debates in Congress”. Washington.  1831.

“New England Farmer”, Vol. 3.  Oct. 1824.

– “A New Family Encyclopaedia”.  1831.

http://www.mygermancity.com/bremen

Wright, Lewis.  “The New Book of Poultry”.  1902.  London.

DRAWING POULTRY©

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drawing poultry, dressing poultry

Chickens, duck, and turkey about to be dressed for the freezer, author’s photo©

This is a companion piece to yesterday’s article on plucking poultry, this being the drawing [to draw the internal organs from the body] step in the butchering process.  It comes from the 1906 “Handbook of Domestic Cookery”.

Just because a way of doing something seems to be the most logical it isn’t always and we should never forget the wisdom of preceding generations when doing something we may not be completely familiar with.  When I was a child every fall my mom would go to the Mennonite community and purchase hens that weren’t laying as well as they once had to dress for the freezer and every year she’d tell me I was going to get a whipping if I didn’t help her clean the hens.  I would go outdoors with the strongest of resolves but when the first head was severed and the headless hen started flopping around on the ground I’d tell her, “Beat me now cause I was going to the house”.

As an adult I’m of a much stronger constitution and can dispatch a bird, pluck, and draw it as a matter of course.  Let’s look at century-old instructions for this part of processing poultry to see if it might offer any insight that we may have missed.

Dressed turkey, author’s photo©

“Poultry must never be in the slightest degree tainted before dressing, though with the exception of pigeons (which are considered to lose flavor by keeping even a day), all poultry is the better for hanging some time before it is cooked.  A turkey may be kept for a fortnight or longer still in cold weather, a goose the same, a fowl will keep for a week, a duck but three days; if young, they are fit to dress immediately on being killed.  When it is desired to keep poultry, it should be feathered, drawn, hung in a cool dry air, seasoned inside with pepper, and wiped often.  Poultry ought not to be washed, unless any of the intestines should be broken during drawing, in which case alone washing out is necessary.  When a bird is drawn, wipe out the inside and pepper it, if for keeping.  The general mode of drawing poultry is to make a cut across the vent, and through this opening the entrails are carefully withdrawn, after this the finger should be inserted, and the heart, liver, etc., taken out.  This part of the operation requires the greatest care to avoid bursting the gall-bag in the liver, which would spoil the bird; the best way to withdraw this part of the intestines is to grasp the gizzard firmly, and then by gentle steady drawing, the heart and liver, etc., will come with it.  The bird being emptied wipe it out, and take out any fat that may be inside.  Widen the vent, and pass it over the rump, and proceed with the trussing as directed; slit the gizzard open on the side, remove its contents with the lining membrane, and cut out the gall bag from the liver.  The fat taken from the insides of ducks or fowls should be melted for basting the birds with, while that from the goose should be rendered for goose grease.  All poultry having white meat requires the same treatment in roasting.  To keep boiled poultry white, rub it over with lemon juice before dressing.  Poultry of every kind requires to be thoroughly cooked; nothing is more objectionable to the taste and eye than underdone poultry.  A brisk clear fire is necessary for poultry, as it is spoilt by slow roasting.  When poultry is not prepared by the poulterer, it is best to pluck and singe it before drawing and trussing.  When a goose is too old to be roasted, it may be treated as pork and made into a ham, like which it should be dressed.  Green [young] geese do not require stuffing, but should be seasoned inside with pepper and salt.

DRY PLUCKING VS. SCALDING POULTRY©

Tags

plucking fowls

Plucking poultry is a slow job for me compared to the efficiency of farm folk a century or more ago so today I will share a few thoughts on what many will find a repulsive practice.  If the reader is such a one, easily offended by a discussion of preparing one’s own food, please take note and decide whether to read further.  Our property is not a petting zoo, it is a fully functioning small farm operating primarily through knowledge gained in century old farm books and journals with heritage breed poultry that dress out like that of great grandma, not the mass produced, pale, store-bought variety.

For the unfamiliar, let’s note that plucking, or picking, is the process of removing the feathers from freshly killed fowl in preparation for cooking or freezing.  There are two methods:  dry plucking, and plucking after scalding in hot water (between 145 to 160 degrees).

“Dry plucking is possible only when the fowls are killed in such a way that the tissues of the skin are left in a relaxed condition and thus offer but little resistance to the removal of the feathers.  The dry plucking, however, must be done immediately after the fowl has been killed and before the body heat has left the carcass. . . .”

“Plucking after scalding is practiced extensively throughout the rural districts where the greater portion of all poultry is killed by severing the head with a hatchet.  Plucking after scalding is made necessary by the crude methods of killing employed…Their feathers will come off much more easily than in the method of dry plucking; in fact, their feathers will come off by handfuls, and in some instances can be rubbed off by the fingers…Scalded poultry will not keep so well in cold storage [not frozen] as dry-plucked poultry, and hence is not usually selected for cold-storage purposes unless it is particularly well prepared for market”.

I will dispense with the various ways of dispensing the birds and concentrate on the plucking and dressing.  “Do not wait until the fowl becomes cold before you commence plucking, or even to stop fluttering, as they are perfectly numb.  It is impossible to dry pick them after they become cold.  Begin by pulling the light feathers and tail, then the breast and so on until perfectly clean.  Do not leave any pin feathers, as nothing so destroys the appearance.  Do not singe the fine feathers, as is often done, as it gives the skin an oily appearance.  As soon as you are through plucking wash the blood from the head and the dirt from the shank and feet.  When through, lay on dry table to cool.”

“In plucking fowls, the feathers should be drawn out of the skin in the direction opposite to that in which they lie naturally.  Thus, if the fowl is hanging head down, the feathers are pulled down toward the head…”

“Directly after the feathers are plucked, all pinfeathers and long hairs should be removed from the plucked surface, so as to leave the carcass perfectly clean and smooth.  The pinfeathers can be removed either with the thumb and finger or with the blade of a knife held against the thumb.  The hairs are usually removed by singeing.

“The exact length of time to hold a fowl in hot water is a matter of judgment, which can be gained only by actual experience in dipping poultry.  More care should be taken in dipping young fowls than in dipping older birds, as the skin of young fowls will scald or cook much sooner than the skin of more mature fowls. Plunging the body of the fowl into cold water immediately after it is taken from the hot water will materially lessen the danger of cooking the skin to a harmful extent.”

Dressing one’s own poultry may or may not be a precursor to a successful dinner for every reader, however, for those like myself that appreciate the old ways as good ways, perhaps you learned a thing or two from this post.  I leave you, as always, with good wishes and blessings for Blissful Meals.©

Bib:  Report, Vol. 1, by Ontario Dept. of Agriculture.  1897.

International Correspondence Schools.  “Poultry Houses”.

PIGEONS AND THE DOVECOT, Part II©

Tags

pigeon, squab

This piece picks up where part I left off with part I.  Now that we’ve established how the dovecot housed the pigeons who raised the squab that goes on our dinner tables, how was it prepared?

[McCall’s Fish and Fowl cookbook, 1974]

“The blue house-pigeon is the variety principally reared for the table in this country, and is produced from our farmyards in great numbers.  When young, and still fed by their parents, they are most preferable for the table, and are called squabs; under six months they are denominated squeakers, and at six months they begin to breed.  Their flesh is accounted savoury, delicate, and stimulating, and the dark-coloured birds are considered to have the highest flavor, whilst the light are esteemed to have the more delicate flesh”.

That delicate flesh was prepared in a myriad of ways, 18^th century cookery books can contain some 20 different receipts for preparing it.  Clermont and others from the early 19^th century used the same receipts:  White Fricassee of Pigeon, Fricassee of Pigeons with Green Peas, Fricasee of Pigeons, country fashion, Pigeons Masqueraded, Pigeons of a fine bright Colour, Pigeons stuffed with Pistachio Nuts, Pigeons au Court Bouillon, Pigeons a la Sainte Menehoult, Pigeons Glazed and served with Stewed Greens, Pigeons Perigord, Pigeons au Cingara, Roasted Pigeons with different Sauces and Ragouts, Pigeons with Basil, Hodgepodge of Pigeons Spanish Style, Pigeons in Cowl Pontiff Sauce, Pigeons with Craw-fish Cullis, (this had notes regarding au Gratin, and Pigeon Parmesan as well), Pigeons a la Bry with Italian Sauce, Pigeons with Cream and Craw-fish as a Fricassee, Pigeons with Craw-fish Butter, Pigeons accompanied with Craw-fish, Pigeons in a delightful Manner, Pigeons Royal Fashion, Pigeons Masked with Ravigotte Sauce, Pigeons with Cream Sauce, Pigeons glazed or with Parmesan Cheese, Pigeons a la Fiane, Pigeons as if Alive with Fricandeaux, Brown Pigeons, Pigeons the Clergyman’s Fashion, Pigeons in a Hurry, Pigeons with a Ragout, Pigeons with Marrow, Pigeons Provence Fashion, Pigeons like Hedge-hogs, Pigeons the Comptroller’s Manner, Pigeons in Cowl with Onions, Pigeons like a Toad, Flatted Pigeons, Pigeons the Princess’s Fashion (because of their preparation), Stewed Pigeon with blood, Pigeons dobed with or without Fennel, Pigeons the Cardinal’s Fashion, Pigeons the German Fashion, Pigeons farced with Shallots, Matlot of Pigeons, Pigeons of a Game Flavour in Moulds or in Paste, Pigeons masked with Cauliflowers, and Pigeons with Truffels.

Photo credit:  Backyard Chickens website.  1. Turkey, 2. Goose, 3. Barbary Duck (Muscovy), 4. Guinea fowl, 5. Mallard, 6. Poussin, (Cornish Rock Game hen/baby cornish X), 7. Quail, 8. Partridge, 9. Pigeon squab, 10. Pheasant, 11. Chicken, 12. Aylesbury duck (pekin)

Pigeon eggs are edible but due to their diminutive size were used more for garnish than substance, often boiled pigeon egg yolks were served in soups.  Descriptions of Chinese meals, whether served in China or the U.S. often included pigeon eggs.

[Source:  Beeton’s Book of Household Management.  #8 is roasted pigeons.]

PIGEONS.  Boil the pigeons by themselves for a quarter of an hour; with a proper quantity of bacon cut square, laid in the middle of the dish.  Stew some spinach, and lay the pigeons on the spinach.  Garnish with parsley dried crisp before the fire.  [1831]

CONSOMME COLONBINE.  Prepare a good tablespoonful of carrot pearls and one of turnip pearls, keeping the latter very white.  Cook them in the ordinary way, and put them in the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of very green peas, one tablespoonful of a julienne of roast pigeon fillets, and six poached pigeons’ eggs, which latter should be sent to the table in a timbale at the same time as the consommé.  Pour over the other garnish one quart of very clear boiling consommé and serve at once.  This soup can only appear on menus when pigeon’s eggs are in season.  [1912]

SOUP WITH PIGEONS AND POACHED EGGS.  Truss the pigeons as for a pie, and half fill them with forcemeat, having plenty of forced mushrooms pounded in it.  Scald and drain them dry; and put them in a stew-pan with a pint of veal broth.  Stew till done; then make hot two quarts of veal broth, and add to it some carrots, turnips, peeled button onions, and celery heads in lengths of two inches.  Steam the vegetables separately before putting them into the broth.  Season with salt and make it boil; and five minutes before serving add the pigeons, and a liaison of four poached eggs in the tureen.  [1836]

STEWED PIGEON.  6 pigeons, a few slices of bacon, 3 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, sufficient stock…to cover the pigeons, thickening of butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of port wine. . .Mince the livers and add these to the parsley and butter, and put it into the insides of the birds.  Truss them with the legs inward, and put them into a stewpan, with a few slices of bacon placed under and over them; add the stock, and stew gently for rather more than ½ hour.  Dish the pigeons, strain the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, pour over the pigeons and serve. . .Seasonable from April to September.   Sarah J. Hale advised using the same liver mixture to stuff pigeons for roasting [1857]

PIGEON PYE.  Your crust must be good, and force [stuff] your Pigeons with good Force-meat; then lay some at the Bottom of your Crust, and your Pigeons a Top; lay your Giblets between with some hard Eggs; Asparagus Tops, Coxcombs and Sweetbreads; put a piece of Butter on top of your Pigeons, and a little Liquor, [broth] so lid and bake it; put in a little Gravy and Butter when you open it.  [1732]  Note:  When butchering, I have saved rooster combs and cooked them for period recipes, however, I found it more for garnish than for adding anything substantial to the dish.

PIGEONS COMPOTE.  Skewer six young pigeons in the same manner as for boiling, put forcemeat into the craws, lard them down the breast, and fry them brown.  Put them into strong brown gravy, and when they have stewed three quarters of an hour, thicken it with a lump of butter rolled in flour.  Make your forcemeat in this manner.  Grate the crumbs of half a penny loaf, and scrape a quarter of a pound of fat bacon, which will answer the purpose better than suet.  Chop a little parsley and thyme, two shallots, or an onion, some lemon-peel, and a little nutmeg grated; season them with pepper and salt, and mix them up with eggs.  When you serve them up, strain your gravy over them, and lay forcemeat balls around them.  [1785]

PIGEON PIE.  1 ½ lb. of rump-steak, 2 or 3 pigeons, 3 slices of ham, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of butter, 4 eggs, puff crust.  Cut the steak into pieces about 3 inches square, and with it line the bottom of a pie-dish, seasoning it well with pepper and salt.  Clean the pigeons, rub them with pepper and salt inside and out, and put into the body of each rather more than ½ oz. of butter; lay them on the steak, and a piece of ham on each pigeon.  Add the yolks of 4 eggs, and half fill the dish with stock; place a border of puff paste round the edge of the dish, put on the cover, and ornament it in any way that may be preferred.  Clean three of the feet, and place them in a hole made in the crust at the top; this shows what kind of pie it is.  Glaze the crust,–that is to say, brush it over with the yolk of an egg,–and bake it in a well-heated oven for about 1 ¼ hour.  When liked, a seasoning of pounded mace may be added.

Louis Eustache Ude’s version of pigeon pie was very similar, published in 1815.

BRAISED PIGEONS.  Draw [clean] and wash three young pigeons, wipe them well and stuff them with breadcrumbs that have been well seasoned and moistened with warmed butter, and cook them in a brasing pan.  Boil some spinach, chop it well, and season with salt and pepper.  Toast three slices of bread, lay them on a hot dish, spread the spinach over them, put a pigeon on each slice, and serve with a sauceboatful of gravy.

FRICASSEED PIGEONS.  . . . Cut them into pieces, and put them in a saucepan; pour in one pint each of claret and water, and a blade of mace, one onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little pepper and salt and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of butter that has been kneaded with a little flour.  Cover the pan, and cook slowly for three-fourths of an hour.  Remove the pieces of pigeons onto a hot dish, and keep them warm.  Strain the gravy, and stir in with it the yolks of three eggs; when thick pour it over the meat, and put some fried oysters on top.  Garnish round with croutons of fried bread, and serve.

PIGEONS IN A HOLE. . . stick their legs in their bellies as you do for boiling, and season them with pepper, salt, and beaten mace.  Put a lump of butter, of the size of a walnut, into the belly of each pigeon, and lay them in a pie dish.  Pour over them a batter made of three eggs, two spoonfuls of flour, and half a pint of good milk.  Bake them in a moderate oven, and send them up in the same dish to table.  [1806]

I leave you now, gentle reader, with visions of pies, fricassees, roasts, and all manner of good dishes, and, as always, Blissful Meals.  ©  All Rights Reserved.

PIGEONS AND THE DOVECOT, Part I©

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columbarium, doocot, dovecot, pigeonnier

The reader may well ask what a dovecot is since this structure is rarely seen today although it served an important purpose in times past.  They were intended to house the dovecot pigeon which when delicately prepared graced many a serving platter.  Dovecots, pigeon cote, columbarium, pigeonnier, or doocot are the same structure while the name varied with location.

Dovecots, or their ruins, can be documented from the Roman occupation of Britain.  They were essential from the early Middle Ages through the 18^th century and many were still in use during the 19^th century.  They are found throughout Europe and the Middle East and were in use in the U.S. by the 1600’s.  Design varied though most were initially round houses with holes for the pigeons to enter and build nests in openings inside the dovecot.  The Medieval larger structures were limited to more well-to-do families who may have had more than one.

[This ruined structure in Newbigging, near Aberdour in Fife, Scotland shows the nesting boxes inside after the facade deteriorated.  Photo credit:  Kim Traynor.]

Later dovecots were small structures mounted onto a building or pole.  Whatever the style, the purpose was the same – the young pigeons were collected from the nests for the table after which the breeding process started over.

[A mounted dovecot, artist William Holman Hunt.]

[Dovecot built into a roof.]

Squab may be a more recognized term than pigeon in farming and cooking circles but only age separates the one from the other.  Squab is a pigeon that has reached adult size but has not begun to fly.

Millington and many others noted the dovecot pigeon was the common blue pigeon.  He found it hardier and better suited to severe weather.  The pigeons fared well on a diet of peas, barley, and buckwheat, many foraging by day and returning to the dovecot in the evening.  May or August were said to be the best months for butchering as that is when the young were deemed best, however, this depends on location.

There is an abundance of historical references of statutes governing the building of dovecots in Scotland due to the damage the birds sometimes did to neighboring crops of grain.

[Craigievar Castle, doocot in the foreground, Scotland.]

Pigeon has been kept as livestock and eaten since antiquity.  “No farm-yard can be considered complete without a well stocked dovecot, the contents of which make the owner a most ample return, and repay him abundantly for the depredations which the pigeons are wont to make upon his ripening corn.  He commands a supply of delicious young birds for his table; and he has the tillage from the dovecot, which is of vast advantage to his barley land.  Moreover, the pigeons render him an essential service, by consuming millions of seeds which fall in the autumn, and which, if allowed to remain on the ground, would rise up the following year, in all the rank exuberance of weed, and choke the wholesome plant. . .

[Painting showing dovecot on the right, 1416.  One might notice the pigeons on the ground and the bee skeps along the fence.]

Our ancestors generally built their dovecot in an open field, apart from the farm-yard; fearing, probably, that the noise and bustle occasioned by the rustic votaries of good Mother Eleusina might interrupt the process of incubation, where the dovecots placed in the midst of the buildings dedicated to husbandry.”

Not everyone agreed with locating the dovecot in isolated locations, and this logic may have changed through the decades and centuries.  “The proper place for the pigeon-house is the poultry-yard; but it does very well near dwellings, stables, brewhouses, bakehouses, or such offices.  Some persons keep pigeons in rooms, and have them making their nests on the floor”.  Roosting where rats and cats could access the nests usually meant wanton destruction of the young pigeons.

[Mazor columbarium, photo credit:  Etan Tal, Wikipedia.]

[Dovecot from Shirley Plantation, Charles City Co., Virginia.  1600’s.  Plantation est. 1613.  Below is a view from inside this dovecot.]

[Inside nests in a dovecot, location and author unknown.]

[If you are wondering, gentle reader, how the young pigeons were collected from inside the dovecots, this is an excellent reproduction of the system in use for generations.  The ladder is attached by wooden arms, at top and bottom, to the center pole and fits just inside the outer wall of the structure.  The gentleman can climb up and down, and pull himself around on the ladder without having to come down.  It is actually a very efficient retrieval method.]

I wonder how vehemently Dear Husband would object to building a reproduction of one of the smaller older structures, maybe a platform for deer hunting, drying vegetables and seeds, etc. . . .  I believe that’s called multi-tasking by those not rooted in the past as we are.  Blissful Meals, all.  Part II to follow.  © All rights reserved.

MUSCOVY DUCK©

Tags

Muscovy duck

The Muscovy is easily identified by the caruncle, red in color, covering the cheeks, extending behind the eyes, and swollen at the root of the bill.  It is generally larger than common ducks.  Wild Muscovy males are brownish black with white patches on the wings, the female similarly but more obscurely colored.  Domesticated examples vary considerably in color.

Domestication of Muscovys has been estimated as early as AD 50, although accounts are spotty.  What seems widely accepted is that the Spanish conquistadors of the 16^th century kept them and took them home from where they spread throughout Europe.  Brown claimed the earliest mention of these ducks was in French, 1670, and they were called Turkish duck.  Willughby who died in 1672 called it, “a wild Brazilian duck of the bigness of a goose”, and described the Muscovy excellently.

“It is in this kind the biggest of all we have hitherto seen.  The colour both of male and female is for the most part a purplish black.  Yet I once saw a duck of this kind purely white.  About the Nosthrils and the Eyes it hath red Caruncles.  It hath a hoarse voice; and scarce audible, unless when it is angry.  Its Eyes are rounder than ordinary:  Those of the young ones at first are of a sordid green, afterwards become continually whiter and whiter”.  – Ray, John (1627-1705) and Willughby, Francis (1635-1672).  “The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Moddleton in the County of Warwick Esq, fellow of the Royal Society in three books . . .

DNA testing is underway and currently held notions may or may not change as results are compiled.

Eighteenth century fishermen often used Muscovy quills to make floats for slow waters.  This practice was still commonly described almost a century later.  – The Laboratory; Or, School of Arts.  1799.  London.

Some initially claimed the Muscovy was from Eastern Europe although that claim was later refuted.  Observers wrote in the early Victorian era that in its native South America nests were in trees but as soon as the ducklings hatched the hen took them one by one to the water.  Eggs are greenish white, roundish, and average from 12 to 18 eggs.  Nineteenth century breeders noted the Muscovy was a faithful sitter and should be allowed to hatch her own young.  – The Farmer’s Magazine.  April, 1858.

“Muscovy ducks are most excellent incubators.  They are used as incubators both in France and especially in Australia.  In these and possibly in other countries they hatch turkey eggs, duck eggs and even chicken eggs.  In some places in Australia five hundred Muscovys are kept for sitting on duck eggs, as it has been found that they hatch out a much larger per cent of eggs and with comparatively little trouble to their owners than either hens or incubators.

Muscovy duck eggs take thirty-five days to hatch, consequently they make very patient and steady sitters on eggs and will hatch duck, turkey or goose eggs without difficulty.  In using Muscovys you will probably need one Muscovy duck on an average to every thirty youngsters you wish to raise. . . They make their nests on the ground by hollowing out a hole with their bodies and lining it with straw.  When the ducks are about to sit, they pull feathers from their own breast and with these line the top of the nest, so that one may always know when a Muscovy duck is ready to sit. . . When the Muscovy duck leaves her nest to eat, which she will once or twice a day, she covers up the eggs with the feathers and down.  Towards the end of the hatch she will often stay off the nest a full hour without injury to the eggs.”  – Basley, A., Mrs.  “Western Poultry Book”.  1912.  Los Angeles.

“The Muscovy duck is easily fattened, and a prolific breeder, and hence, though it is also a voracious feeder, it may be rendered profitable to rear.”  Drakes and hens readily crossed with other ducks although the hybrids didn’t have the breeding capacity of the purebreds.  – The American Agriculturist. July, 1845.  NY.

The hatching success of Muscovy crosses varied from outright claims of sterility to those who said they rarely hatched signifying while it was possible for them to hatch the success rate was extremely low.

The Annual Report of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture said in 1863 that the Muscovy duck was native to South America and had formerly been known as the Guinea duck.  Other earlier sources used the name Brazilian, Peruvian, Indian, Musk, Muscovite, Turkish, and Barbary.  In the 1860’s it was still sometimes called the Barbary duck.  The report stated it had been introduced for domestication during the sixteenth century.

Its flesh was noted to be excellent in flavor.  Dixon wrote that the flavor was excellent if killed just before fully fledged [having wing feathers sufficient enough to enable the bird to fly], but it took longer in achieving growth for the table than the common duck.  “The flesh is at first high flavoured and tender, but an old bird would be rank and the toughest of tough meat.”  – Brown, Edward.  “Races of Domestic Poultry”.  1906.

With that, I bid adieu as the reader considers the merits of this odd looking duck. – Victoria Brady, The Historic Foodie. – ©Nov. 2017.

Destruction Can Come in Small Packages©

Tags

fire ants, fire ants and poultry, fire ants kill chicks

Prior to moving to coastal Georgia about 30 years ago I’d never heard of a fire ant.  The yard where we settled was manicured except for one area maybe 4 x 4 feet.  I decided to clean that up and as soon as I made one pass into the area with the mower I was covered with thousands of stinging ants.  The stings are quite painful and a single large colony can contain up to 250,000 worker ants.  Each bite causes an infected pustule and swelling.  I still have scars from that encounter 30 years ago topped off by more recent ones I got working in the garden and trying to get the ants off chicks and eggs.

We have lost several chicks (duck, chicken, and goose) this year.  At first I didn’t realize why we were finding so many half-hatched or day old dead, but seemingly fully developed, chicks in the pens and nests.  Eventually I found a pipped egg in a nest inside the chicken coop with ants on it, in it, and swarming all around inside the nest.  This wasn’t a case of a few ants crawling on an egg.  When I began to carefully remove bits of shell, ants came pouring out of the egg.  It was like something from a horror movie.  There must have been at least 200 fire ants inside the egg mercilessly stinging the poor chick.  Naturally it died and I realized we have a huge problem.

As soon as the chicks pip, the ants seize upon the bit of moisture and sting the poor chicks to death.  I had a hen hatching eggs in a cardboard box atop my freezer yesterday and by the time I saw the eggs were hatching the ants had already killed three of the chicks.  They climbed up the brick wall in the carport and from there managed to bridged the gap from the wall over to the freezer to get in the box.

A look at some chicken forums confirmed that the problem has been experienced in many areas of the South and one woman claimed the ants had killed a full-grown rooster.  The local Extension office has published papers to educate youngsters raising poultry, goats, rabbits, and other small animals for 4-H club on the dangers of fire ants when animals are penned and cannot escape them.

Cluster of fire ants floating in flood water, Wiki

The quail population in the Southeast has declined drastically, primarily due to newly hatched quail succumbing to fire ant stings.  Quail nest on the ground where the ants have no trouble  getting to the hatching eggs.  A similar problem has been observed with the brown pelican.  “Two years ago, a colony of brown pelicans off the coast of Georgia completely abandoned an area of their rookery right in the middle of the nesting season.  This was a sure signal that something was wrong.”  Brad Winn, UGA, investigated and found fire ants in the nests. *

The University of Nebraska did a study on the impact of fire ants on hatching turtles and reported a loss of 70% of hatchlings on Southeastern coasts.  Brad Winn, a DNR biologist from Georgia said, fire ants damage eggs by chewing holes in the eggs and while the University of Georgia report didn’t seem to think the problem as severe they did note that during and just after hatching young turtles are found that have been killed in the shell by fire ants and others that were killed by fire ants after hatching.

The ants are particularly dangerous for people who are allergic to their stings because so many of them can attack at once.  A young Alabama mother of two died this summer after fire ants came out of a bale of hay she was sitting on and stung her numerous times.

There are multiple types of fire ants, with “our” Red Imported Fire Ant being the worst.  It is the worst because of its swarming behavior, its painful stings, and its ability to reproduce at an astonishing rate.  They are also seemingly indifferent to poisons that finish off other kinds of ants.  “One sting isn’t serious but fire ants can use their stingers again and again, and they have a nasty habit of ganging up on their victims.  Mass stingings can kill animals and people”.  **

So far we haven’t used anything I’d consider an effective poison although I’ve seen recommendations for Advion Fire Ant Bait and Extinguish Plus Fire Ant Bait, both of which should be broadcast outdoors in the spring and fall. For existing mounds, granules should be spread, not on the mound, but about 3 to 4 feet around the mound.   For those of us with free-ranging poultry, the first step is penning them up so that they don’t eat the bait.  I put Sevin granules in my chicken nests using the recommended amount for the coops but that hasn’t helped the birds nesting outside the pens or the poor hen on top of the freezer.

Travelers to Brazil and other destinations described the painful stings of fire ants in the 1860’s, I wonder what they’d say if they knew that these miniscule stinging menaces were introduced to the U.S. through ship ballast, probably in Mobile, AL, and have spread to this degree throughout the Southeast.

* http://apps.caes.uga.edu/gafaces/index.cfm?public=viewStory&pk_id=963

**  Boys’ Life.  Sept. 1992.