Many hatcherymen and poultrymen operated under the National Poultry Improvement Plan, which stressed the development of high-producing strains and pullorum-free flocks.
The leading breed of chickens during the 1950s was the Leghorn, and the leading breed of turkeys was the broad breasted bronze.
Eggs and chickens were produced in every county in the state in 1950 the leading counties were Fayette, Lavaca, Williamson, Washington, and Gonzales. The leading turkey-raising counties during this time were DeWitt, Gonzales, and Fayette, but to a lesser extent turkeys were raised in all but three counties in the state. Shipments of turkeys in 1932 included 1,574 cars of dressed and eighty-eight cars of live turkeys.ĭuring the early 1950s Texas led the nation in the production of commercial turkey hatchery eggs. Many large poultry-dressing and egg-breaking plants were in operation. In 1933 Texas was still the largest turkey producer in the nation. By 1926 Cuero in DeWitt County was the established commercial turkey-raising center, though fourteen other Texas cities shipped carload lots. More than twenty million chickens were produced in 1926, and egg production was estimated at over 65,000,000 dozen. A census of poultry on Texas farms that year showed 12,719,572 chickens, 363,666 turkeys, 74,910 ducks, 244,991 geese, 170,107 guinea fowls, 95,625 pigeons, 12 ostriches, and 762 of all other types of birds. The Texas Co-operative Poultry Producers' Association was organized by 1914. In 1904 eggs averaged twelve cents a dozen, chickens twenty-two cents a pound, and turkeys twelve cents a pound (live weight). In 1900 Texas ranked first among states in number of turkeys, third in geese, fourth in ducks, fifth in chickens, and ninth in eggs. A production of 32,466,433 dozen eggs was reported that year. Most families raised their own poultry, and there was little market for any excess. Various types of poultry have been raised in Texas since the Spanish period, but commercial production did not begin until the 1840s and was extremely limited until the twentieth century.
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