Goose & Poultry Keeper
Role description
The Van Tassel barnyard runs to regiments of geese, legions of ducks, and squadrons of guinea fowl. You keep every one of them fed, counted, and out of the fox's reach.
The work
- Feed, water, and herd the flocks morning and night.
- Count them in and count them out; report the shortfall the same day.
- Hold the line against foxes, and against the gander, who holds his own line.
Context
- Reports to the head farmhand.
- Solo charge of the barnyard flocks.
- Pay is £10–16 New York currency per annum (~$25–40 in silver dollars), with board.
- In-person, twice daily, every day — fowl do not keep a calendar.
Recorded in the parish register of Sleepy Hollow, autumn of 1799.
What they're looking for
- Has kept fowl before, in any number.
- A keen eye for the fox and a thick skin for an ill-tempered gander.
Not a fit if you would rather work with people than with poultry.
Organization description
The most prosperous farmstead on the green banks of the Hudson: grain, dairy, orchard, and poultry, in profit every season since Baltus Van Tassel took the place in hand in 1770.
Who we are
A dozen year-round hands plus seasonal crews at haying and harvest, all of whom board in and eat from a table that fairly groans. Barns full to the beams, a larder the valley considers a local wonder, and no debts anywhere in the ledger.
How we work
Old Dutch husbandry run on a calendar that has not failed yet: plough at thaw, hay at midsummer, the great crush at harvest, and the frolics that follow. We promote from within — the last head farmhand started as a cornhusker — and the master works alongside the crews.
Who thrives here
Hands who rise early without being told twice and who can be trusted with stock, tackle, and a full cellar. Anyone who has tasted the table tends to stay; our turnover among such is, as far as the books show, nil.
Recorded in the parish register of Sleepy Hollow, autumn of 1799.