Peasants and poultry in England, 1250-1540

Abstract Peasants had an important role as poultry keepers in late medieval England. Literary sources and administrative documents show that many rural households provided themselves with at least a cock and between 5 and 7 hens. These birds contributed to the subsistence of the household mainly with eggs which supplemented the mainly cereal diet. Occasionally a fowl was eaten for a special meal. A minority of producers maintained a dozen or more fowls, or they kept a flock of geese, capable of yielding a useful income from the market. A few peasants profited from dovecots. Peasant surpluses of birds and eggs were sometimes sold through poulterers who coordinated the trade, supplying the needs of townspeople and the households of the wealthy. Poultry occupied a special place in peasant culture.