Classic Poultry Books that you can borrow on Library Loan

By Robert Blosl

There is a vast inventory of wonderful Poultry Books in Libraries all over the United

States that can be borrowed on a system called Library Loan. You must go to your

local public Library and ask the librarian for a library loan request form. On this

form is a space for the name of the book, the author, publisher, and date

published. You fill out your name, library card number, and your phone number at

your home or work. When the book arrives at your library, the staff will call you and

tell you your book or books are in. You should get about a two-week time to

borrow your classic poultry book and then you return it in due time and it is

returned to the library wench it came. The cost to help the library system is about

$l.00 some states it may be free. None the less, it is a cheap way to borrow a

great book and learn ways that might improve your methods of raising poultry and

taking care of your poultry plant. I will give you a list of books that I own and also

from time to time I will up date this list with new books and authors. It will at least

give you a start in the right direction than you had before you read this article. By

the way, if you live near, Mississippi at Starkville, Texas at Texas A & M, Louisiana

at Baton Rouge New York at Syracuse, Washington State at Pullman you can visit

there libraries and see hundreds of poultry books and then you can write down the

books that you would like to borrow and chance are they will come from that

University Library. It is a lot of fun to visit these library’s and when you are there,

ask the staff if you can have a computer read out of books under Poultry. Also, ask

them if you can search the card catalog by e-mail.

I will list the books that I have read by title and author:

Poultry Breeding and Management by James Dryden, Orange Judd

Publishing Company, 1942 400 pages a basic all around book used by schools

teaching Poultry Science in the 1940s.

The Production of 300 Eggers and Better by Line Breeding. M E Atkinson

and Grant M Curtis Editor Reliable Poultry Journal Dayton Ohio. The Reliable

Poultry Journal Publishing Company 1923. An excellent book on line breeding and

how to increase your production of your lying flock. I used methods in this book to

improve my laying of my R I Reds. A interesting historical point, Arthur Schilling

the famous Poultry artist was working on a book on Rhode Island Reds when Mr.

Curtis told him to put all the R I Red data a side and work on getting this book

ready in print. Schilling never got the go ahead from Mr. Curtis to restart the book

on R I Reds. Schilling at the time was employed by the Reliable Poultry Journal

and Mr. Curtis.

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The Poultry Book, by Harrison Weir, 1913,Doubleday, Page and Company 1300

pages. This is one of the best books of early day poultry. It must weigh 5 pounds

and is loaded with how to get started in Poultry. A true classic. You may or may

not be able to borrow it. But it is worth a try.

Plymouth Rock Standard and Breed Book, American Poultry Association.

About 1930s a book written by Plymouth Rock breeders loaded with secrets on

color breeding and raising fowl. It is in a way a standard of perfection on Rocks. I

got my book from Knoxville, Tenn. You can make copies of pages that pertain to

your needs.

Wyandotte Standard and Breed Book, American Poultry Association. About

1930s. Same as above, a fantastic book on the breed. The only two books that the

APA published on Poultry that I know of.

China Fowl, George Burnham, 1874, Rabdm Avery and Co. Boston, A history of

how Brahma’s and Cochins made it to the United States written by one of the

founders of the breed. May not be able to get it but if you can it is a wonderful

book.

Judging Poultry for Production, Rice Hall and Marble, Hohn Wiley and Sons,

400 pages , This book is geared toward Production Poultry, but James E. Rice

was one excellent teacher and writer.

Poultry Breeding, Morley A. Jull, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 484 pages

another excellent book written by a outstanding Professor and Chairman of Poultry

Husbandry at the University of Maryland in the 1930s. Lots of excellent ideas that

you can still use today for a Poultry Backyard Fancier.

Burnhams New Poultry Book, George Burnham, Lee and Shepard, Publishers,

New York, 1877, 340 pages. This had to be one of the first books on basic poultry

published. It starts from eggshell to laying house. Shows old poultry buildings

brooder pens etc. Again may or may not be able to get on loan but worth the try.

Poultry Production, Lipincott and Card, 1934 Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia,

715 pages. Leslie Card was Professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

This has to be one of the finest books written on getting started in Poultry in the

early years of Poultry Husbandry. It’s just fantastic and one of my favorites. You

should have no problem getting this book. It’s a must.

Poultry Science and Practice, Waite, McGraw-Hill Publications Professor Roy H.

Waite was from the University of Maryland. His book is another classic that taught

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students Poultry Husbandry but on an exhibition as well as a production standard.

You should not have any problem getting this book. 420 pages,

Making Poultry Pay, Edwin C. Powell, Orange-Judd Company 1907,This book is

one of my favorites as it has pictures of Poultry Buildings how to get started from A

to Z. just a fine book to have and I am lucky tha I own one. Hope you can get one

on loan, it’s about 300 pages.

Poultry for Home and Market, Cooper, Turner E. Smith and Co., 1944,470

pages, James Cooper was with the Poultry Husbandry Department at Clemson

College.This book is geared towards getting started in Production chickens in the

1940s, it has great illustrations of brooder houses, chicken houses, and making

feeders etc. It is worth getting it to make copies of these plans. If they are too large

in scale for your needs reduce the size of the buildings to your needs. I like this

book for these illustrations.

Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture John H Robinson Ginn and

Company, Boston, New york Chicago London, 1912, 600 pages. If there was ever

a great writer on Poultry it was John Robinson. He was one of the early pioneers

of Poultry Books written in the manner for production but also on the standard of

perfection. He was a friend with a lot of early day Poultry people and wrote articles

for leading Poultry magazines in the golden years of Poultry. This book is a classic

as all his books are. If you find a book at a library or on the Internet library catalog

write down the title and order it at once. Mr. Robinson is my favorite writer and has

taught me so much in my practice of breeding and growing Rhode Island Reds. 5

STARS.

Successful Poultry Management, Morley A. Jull, Whittlesey House, McGraw-

Hill book company Inc., 1943,460pages, Professor and Head of Poultry

Department, University of Maryland. If there was ever a school in the 1940s that a

student could go to school and learn Poultry Science it was at the University of

Maryland. This book is again loaded with information that can help us today in our

poultry flock. I love this book and I am glad I own a copy. 5 STARS

Blue Ribbon Reds, Rhode Island Red Club of America, Emmett Rachels, Sec.

You may not be able to get a copy of this book by library loan, but you can order a

copy that was reprinted a few years ago. It was written in the 1912 area and

reprinted again in 1925. Much of the subjects can be used not only for R I Reds

but other breeds of Poultry. One of my tops ten books that I own. Write Mr.

Rachel’s and request a copy while they last.

The Book of Knowledge, The Rhode Island Red Club, 1944, 25 pages, The last

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breed book published by the Red Club when Ernie Jones took over as Sectary. It

is a classic and is offered by me for $3.50 in our Red Club classic articles. It is a

photocopy of the reprinted edition but worth every penny to just have a copy.

I will up date this list as I find more books available to give you. This will at least

get you started on your library loan program. If you need any help just e mail me at

katz@gulftel.com . Enjoy and let me know if you find other books that we can

share the titles with our friends who view this web site.