Phillips County Museum News for Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Last year I wrote about how much poultry was shipped out of Phillips County. There was an active movement in the early 1920s to develop the poultry industry in the county. In mid-May, 1923, three community poultry housing demonstrations were held. They were put on by the county agent and Miss Harriette Cushman, poultry specialist from Montana State College.

The old poultry houses were torn down and remodeled on the H. J. Rocek farm at Black Coulee and the Mac Schoop farm at South Wagner. A new house was built on the J. N. Mangis farm.

The houses were built with the purpose of better production in Phillips County. The new houses were bigger and allowed more light in. According to the news article, an ideal poultry house had a warm roosting place, plenty of sunshine, and at least four square feet of floor space for each bird. The building should also be free from dampness.

At the demonstrations women outnumbered men and the article said they were “efficient in handling carpentry tools”. Picnic luncheons were served at all three demonstrations. More demonstrations were to be held later in the year in other communities in the county.

One farm in each community was to be selected as a poultry demonstration farm and serve as a model for anyone interested in the production of larger and better flocks. Those chosen as models agreed to keep records of their egg and meat production.

The Phillips County Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Stop by and check us out.