The Best Birds for the Seattle Barnyard
A local expert’s guide to the poultry breeds that promise the most eggs and the heartiest meals for the pioneer household.
The story, cleaned up
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There is as much difference in the opinion of breeders or amateurs as to which is the best and most valuable variety of fowls as there is any one thing we know of. On this subject the Practical Farmer gives its opinion in this wise: One of our experienced poultry breeders, after trying most of the new breeds, classifies them thus, as regards value for the million: In situations where eggs for use or market are more the object than anything else, the French Houdan, the Dominique, and White Leghorn breeds are preferred. For a fowl for general purposes, and combining large size, good laying properties, quiet habits, easy fattening and tender flesh, he prefers Partridge Cochins, Dark Brahmas, Light Brahmas, and Buff Cochins. These are all hardy and in every way desirable.
“For a fowl for general purposes, and combining large size, good laying properties, quiet habits, easy fattening and tender flesh, he prefers Partridge Cochins.”
While modern Seattleites debate the ethics of backyard chickens versus urban density, 1872 residents were preoccupied with the same fundamental question: which breeds would actually put food on the table in a rugged, growing territory? The desire for self-sufficiency remains a constant thread in the regional identity.
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