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As we talk of some cute little chickens.
In Colonial times
(Are you sick of these rhymes?)
It’s Nankins this week that we’re pickin’.
Join us this week, as we talk all things colonial (okay, maybe just the livestock) at Colonial Williamsburg. Elaine Shirley, the manager of the Rare Breeds Program, walks us through on a wonderful tour of the horses, cattle, and chickens (and more) that were used by the early settlers. This living history museum in Virginia is a great place to walk back in time and see what life was like on a daily basis in 17th and 18th centuries -- heritage breeds included. And you can quaff beer in a tavern, fire a musket, ride in a carriage, and quiz George Washington about his life. Not kidding on that last one, actually. Elara asked him about his…donkey, the American Mammoth Jack.
But today, we’ll focus on the Nankin chicken – a true bantam that is about as friendly, cute and active as they come. And it’s a bird that’s broody, so it’s often used to sit on other chickens' eggs in the coop. A dove-sized chicken sitting on a full-sized batch of eggs. How’s that for a funny mental picture? Elaine gives us the skinny on these little birds, and the reason they’re on the tour.
We’ll bring you more from our visit to Colonial Williamsburg in the future, but until then, we urge you to find out more. Here are a few links to get you started.
https://colonialwilliamsburg.com/
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/nankin