Speaking of heritage chickens ...

My sister and I were tickled to discover some info today on Grandmother's heritage chicken breeds. My sister was reading a little notebook in which our grandmother had kept financial records. On one page, if you flip the book upside down, you can read:

set black orphington hen May 21
set bramah eggs June 7 (I assume that would be brahma)
set turkey eggs under hen July 23

On another page she had kept a record of eggs sales from 1919. She sold eggs from 30 cents/doz to 35 cents/doz that year. Those seems like pretty good prices for 1919!

I questioned my Dad (who is 92) on what breeds he can remember his mother keeping and came up with the following list.

rhode island reds
barred rock
black orpington
silver spanged hamburg
white wyandotte
black Jersey Giant
brahma

I just thought it was so interesting to come up with this personal family record of heritage breeds. My sister and I have just started raising a few heritage breeds since three years ago since I had moved back to the family homestead to take care of my parents but I had never known what breeds Grandmother had kept apart from the very common Rhode Island Reds and barred rocks. It was so neat to make that personal connection

That is very neat to find a link to the past on family raising Heritage Poultry!
It is cool to know the breeds that the family once had.
I know my grandparents used to have white wyandottes, barred rocks and light sussex.
Also some barnyard bantams.

You must have it in your blood, Happychicks! You are a natural!

that is very cool!

I just looked it up, the estimated comparative value of a dollar in 1919 is $12.58. So at the time 35 cents a dozen would be the same as $4.40 now. Hmmm, I wonder if the grains were cheaper back then, and buildings too. Apparently its hard to compare these values because so much trade was done by barter, only so much gold= only so much money to go around back then.

Oh a lovely piece of family history, I liked to hear that. Interesting the breeds that the old timers kept eh? Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

reneggaide wrote:I just looked it up, the estimated comparative value of a dollar in 1919 is $12.58. So at the time 35 cents a dozen would be the same as $4.40 now. Hmmm, I wonder if the grains were cheaper back then, and buildings too. Apparently its hard to compare these values because so much trade was done by barter, only so much gold= only so much money to go around back then.

Interesting info! That gives a better picture of what that amount of money meant to her at that time. Between selling eggs and knitting leggings to sell to Sears, she was able to bring in a little extra income to help out the family.