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Back Issues: Fowl affairs in Manawatū

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Description: Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. In the late nineteenth century, domestic poultry keeping was very common. More than half of New Zealand households had hens. The care and raising of chickens was often the domain of women and children. Poultry keeping grew in the early twentieth century, as an important sideline on farms and also as independent enterprises. In 1904, leading breeders set up the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club, focussing on improved egg production. The importance of poultry keeping was evident by the 1930s. In 1931, Massey Agricultural College offered a poultry certificate course, then an advanced course in 1933.