A Short (very short) History

"Don't try to convey your enthusiasm for chickens to anyone else." 
- E.B. White

 This past week has been kinda crappy weather to be building a hen house outside (my only workspace at the moment) so I've moved indoors. In other words, I'm actually starting to put my Literature Review together. This translates to too many hours reading what poultry scientists, agricultural engineers and lighting engineers have to say about Gallus gallus domesticus and the effects of artificial light on a hen's egg production cycle. Well apparently the effect is substantial and the initial discovery can be attributed way back to 1889, to a Dr. E.C. Waldorf, of NY.

Apparently, quite a few gentlemen of the late 19th century were dabbling as 'poultry men'.

Famous writer EB White, well known for his children's books: Charlotte's Webb and Stuart Little, was apparently afflicted with an admiration for chickens much to the chagrin of many of his New York City friends who thought of the chicken, "a comic prop straight out of vaudeville. When I would return to city haunts for a visit, these friends would greet me with a patronizing little smile and the withering question: 'How are all the chickens?'" (White 1944, v, A Basic Guide for the Small Flock Owner).

EB White and his dog Minnie