Chicken Coops of
the 18th Century

THE CHICKEN COOP

Chicken Keeping: A Time-Honored Tradition

In the 18th century, chicken coops were typically wooden boxes where chickens would lay their eggs:

Construction: Plantation carpenters built wooden boxes for nesting.
Location: Chicken coops were often located in sheds, and were adapted from other structures that were full of junk.
Features: Chicken coops typically included nesting boxes, storage space for feed, and roosts.

Chickens were an important part of life in the 18th century, and were used for a variety of purposes:

Food: Chickens were a primary source of meat and eggs for dinner. Recipes from the time included dishes made with chicken breast, thighs, legs, livers, hearts, and gizzards. Eggs were also popular, and could be fried, scrambled, or made into omelets.
Fertilizer: Chicken manure was used to fertilize plants in gardens.
Slave labor: Masters often allowed slaves to raise chickens, and some even ran businesses selling the birds and eggs.

1750s

The Dominique Chicken

The Dominique chicken is recognized as America’s first, and oldest, chicken breed. There are several theories for its origin. Some feel it was brought from southern England by early colonists, the Pilgrims – hence an original name “Pilgrim fowl.” Others believe it originated in the French colony of Saint Dominique on what is now the island of Haiti, and the reason they have been known as “Dominikers” or “Dominic” chickens. They have also been known as the Dominico, Blue Spotted Hen and the Old Gray Hen.

However they arrived, they have been in America since at least the 1750s, and were a popular dual-purpose bird. The Dominique was bred plentifully on American farms as early as the 1820s. Breeders refined the bird by crossing with some of the Asian varieties, and later, attention was given to developing more uniformity in chicken breeds. In 1849, some were exhibited at the first American poultry show held in Boston, and over 10,000 people attended to see 1,423 birds.