LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - APRIL 23, 2023 by Lynne Belluscio When I was working at the Genesee Country Museum and doing research for the Agricultural Fair, I had the opportunity to learn a bit about chickens. Much to the chagrin of my husband, I was given a pair of Polish Bantams. They are small black chickens with feathery white “hats” and are quite funny looking. They are considered show chickens and are not raised for their eggs and their meat is not very good but they do make good pets. They may have originated in Poland or the Netherlands and they were known in England in the 1700s. I soon added some White Silkies to the chicken house. These fluffy chickens have fine feathers and I was told they would sit on a stone and try to hatch it. Although Silkies come in a variety of colors, they all have black skin and blue earlobes. They also have five toes on each foot, not four. I also had Araucanas for a while. These are the chickens that lay green eggs. They can be traced to chickens in South America, but were adapted for life in North America and became Ameraucanas. For several years I had three large black roosters. I called them the “Three Tenors.” I had bought them as chicks and they were supposed to be hens, but as they grew, it was pretty obvious they were roosters. They would perch on the split rail fence and crow at the top of their lungs. They also were pretty aggressive. One day I had a contractor call me on the phone. He was in my driveway and had tried to get out of his truck. The Three Tenors were outside his door and he couldn’t get out. I told him, “Step out of the truck and look those guys in the eye and don’t turn your back on them.” So thatwasmy introduction to chickens and a bit of their history, but I never knew that LeRoy was known for chickens - - lots of chickens - - thousands of chickens. Perhaps you have driven out north of town on the West Bergen Road and you have seen the huge barn complex on the east side of the road. This was the Schuyler Farm and thousands of Leghorns were raised there. (There is a very nice 4 x 4 barn quilt #29 known as Clay’s Choice on the small barn near the road.) Diana Lapp told me about the farm because it was part of her family’s history. In fact her brother still lives on the farm - - without the chickens. Wesley Schuyler who owned the farm was her grandfather. He was a former poultryman for Hawley’s in Batavia. Schuyler bought the farm about 1950. At that time, the farm included the 346 foot long barn as well as a feed mill, a saw mill, a machine shop and blacksmith shop. In its heyday, the Schuyler farm hatched more than 5000 chickens every week. Schuyler had been raising chickens since he was eleven. In 1932 his prizewinning white Leghorn rooster was used as the model for the standard of perfection and his birds took top honors at the New York State Fair for three years in the early 1930s. Before the Schuylers owned the farm, it was owned by Frank Hall, son of W.P. Hall, the inventor of the Hall Incubator. Hall sold all types of equipment including “Colony Houses” which were small brood houses that could be moved on skids. The Halls provided equipment for folks in the area who were raising chickens. Their catalogue included a photograph of Mrs. Reed Waterman and her daughter Madeleine who lived in Byron. Another photo showed the laying house of Mr. Dayton Stevens at Stone Church. And another photograph showed a flock of White Rocks at Hondorf’s Farm in Churchville. Hall’s catalogue included a description of Hall’s Big Type White Leghorns: “The single Comb White Leghorn is a very popular money maker from the standpoint of egg production. They are popular for we find them on a large share of the farms. The Single Comb Whites are leading by far in public favor. Our chicks are hardy and mature very rapidly. The pullets start laying from four to five months of age. Our Leghorns lay large white eggs and lots of them. You will find them big values.” Hall also sold other breeds of chickens, including Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. (I’ve owned both of those too. They are nice laying chickens). Wesley Schuyler died in 2000. He is buried in Machpelah Cemetery and his stone has an image of a chicken. His son lives at the farm now and his daughter, Diana lives down the road at 8028 West Bergen Road. Her barn quilt, #32, Diana’s Star, is on the cover of the LeRoy Barn Quilt Map. White Leghorns
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