Homeplace 1850s Working Farm
Animals on an 1850s Farm
Hogs
Hog meat was salted and hung in the smoke house to make hams and bacon for food in the winter. The fat from the hog was called lard and was used in many ways including making soap and candles.
Large Black Pigs are a Heritage breed with a large body that is solid black. They have large lop ears that fall forward over its face, to protect their eyes from damage while the pig is rooting and foraging for food.
The Large Black is a very good mother. Black sows are able to raise and wean large litters of piglets out of doors, and these survival characteristics give it genetic value .
The Large Black gained popularity rapidly during the last half of the 1800s, and it was one of the most numerous of the English pig breeds in 1900. A breed association was formed in 1898.
The Large Black nearly became extinct during the 1960s, and it remains one of the rarest British pig breeds. In 1973 the breed was put on Rare Breed Survival Trust’s critically endangered livestock list.
Sheep
Sheep wool was shorn (cut) every spring. The wool was woven and spun into cloth and yarns. The wool had to be washed and carded (brushed) and dyed. Then it could be made into clothing, rugs and quilts for the farm.
Leicester Longwool sheep is a Heritage breed that was very popular in the early 19th century. By 1837, they were found in every part of the United Kingdom, Europe and America. Leicester Longwools are medium to large sheep, weighing 180–250 pounds. The Leicester Longwool is one of the “luster long wool” breeds, so called for the sheen and brilliance of their wool. The sheep appear to shine just after shearing. The fleece is heavy, curly, soft handling, and lustrous with a spiral tipped staple up to eight inches. Fleeces weigh from eleven to fifteen pounds, occasionally up to twenty pounds.
During the later part of the 1800s, the breeds popularity declined in favor of the Merino and other fine wool breeds. By the 1930s or 1940s, the Leicester Longwool numbers fell almost to extinction in the United States. A very small population remained only in Canada. In 1990, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a historic site in Virginia, reestablished the breed in North America.
Mules and Oxen
Before tractors, mules and oxen provided the draft power (transferring the animals muscle power to push or pull a heavy load), for many jobs on the farm, from plowing to planting to hauling crops to market. As the use of farm machinery increased mules were replaced with tractors and family farms were replaced by larger farming businesses.
A Belgian Mule has horse mother and donkey father. Their only trained job is for pulling a plow in the field or pulling a farm wagon. Mules were usually imported from Tennessee or Missouri where they were bred. Some farmers say they were smarter than a horse. A man and a mule could walk up to 30 miles a day on hard ground. Mules were hitched to plows, planters, cultivators, and wagons.
In 1850 southerners used mule power more than anywhere else in the United States. Belgian Mules are big, beautiful and strong animals with long ears, a sharp back bone and huge muscles built for field work. A mule’s hoof is different from a horse, being a bit smaller and thinner and requires a different type shoe.
Oxen are cattle that have been trained to do work such as pulling plows or carts, using a yoke. The slow steady pace of these strong animals makes them well-suited for hauling logs and firewood. Their cloven hooves give them the ability to work in rough terrain. Ayrshire oxen, first came to America in 1822. Farmers needed a milk producing cow that could work in rough, stony pastures and survive in the harsh winters. For centuries, the skills of training cattle for work and the craft of building yokes and related equipment was passed down from generation to generation. It was common for a young boy or girl to be responsible for the care and training of a team from calves to working age.
Oxen
A yoke is a wooden beam normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yokes, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen.
Chickens and Ducks
Chickens and Ducks were raised for their eggs, meat and feathers. Eggs could be sold for money or traded for things needed on the farm.
Cayuga Ducks are a Heritage breed that have a very good personality. A Cayuga duck can lay about 100 to 150 large eggs per year. Their eggs are black or dark grey in color. They enjoy looking for food in the grass, and they love eating snails, slugs and most other insects. Originating in the United States, in the 1800s, they were a very popular duck. The duck is named after the Lake Cayuga, in New York.
Dominicker or Pilgrim Fowl, is considered America’s oldest breed of chicken, descending from chickens brought to New England from southern England during colonial times. In 1850 they were raised in many parts of the country. Dominiques have brown eggs. Their feathers were much sought after as stuffing for pillows and mattresses.
Heritage Breeds
Heritage animals are the animals that you’d find on your great-grandparents farms. Heritage breeds are traditional livestock breeds that were raised by our forefathers. These are the breeds of the past used on the family farms of the 1800’s before machines replaced the animals to do the work.
These animal breeds were carefully selected and bred over time to develop traits that made them well-adapted to the local environment and they thrived under farming practices and cultural conditions that are very different from those found in modern agriculture.
