\n\t\tNotable People\n\t<\/h2>\n\n\t\tBertha Bottenus – Backyard Poultry Farmer\n\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Bertha](\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bottenus-Bertha-1-208x300.png\" "\\"Bottenus,")
\n\t\tBertha Bottenus\n\t
\n\t\tBertha Bottenus\n\t\n\t\tBertha Bottenus\n\tWhat a woman can accomplish by raising chickens in a suburban lot has been demonstrated by Bertha Bottenus. In early 1912, she and her husband decided to raise a few chickens for outdoor activity and employment. Bertha soon became thoroughly invested in her chickens and gave up all her social affiliations and devoted herself strictly to the rearing of a flock of White Leghorns.<\/p>\n
The little flock grew and grew until it spread over the whole back yard and numbered several hundred. That was quite a record of one year’s work of an amateur working within a limited area.<\/p>\n
Bertha stated that she owed her success to the application of business principles to poultry raising. She kept an account of sales, expenses, and a record of every egg laid and what became of each. If an egg hatched into a chicken, she could tell just what it cost to raise that chicken.<\/p>\n
The Bottenus chickens laid 11,030 eggs in 1913, which paid their board bill and paid for the coops and other equipment with a small profit left over. It was a very healthy flock since out of 1,282 chicks hatched, only three died.<\/p>\n\t
When asked about the secret to her success, she stated, “The laying house and brooders are kept clean and well ventilated, and I have never fed a spoonful or wet mash to young or old. They have a dry mash or ‘chicken chowder’ before them at all times. One way that I can cut down on my feed bills is to buy all my grain and feed in large quantities, thus getting a wholesale price.”<\/p>\n
Bertha put up a sign in the front yard bearing the proud insignia, “Puritan Poultry Farm.” She never had to develop a market. Customers came to the house for fresh eggs and broilers.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Bottenus also became a fancier of exhibition quality poultry. She purchased a flock of Columbian Plymouth Rocks, a comparatively new breed of showy looking birds. They were the Barred Plymouth Rock’s shape and weight and the plumage of the Light Bramah-white, with black trimmings. She showed at some of the nearby poultry exhibitions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bottenus-William.jpg\" "\\"Bottenus,")
\n\t\tBilly Bottenus\n\t
Bertha Stevens was born on June 9, 1870, in New York. She married William George Bottenus, born on April 16, 1865, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Billy Bottenus was a minor league outfielder and first basemen. He began playing during the 1888 season and last took the field during the 1907 campaign.<\/p>\n
Billy Bottenus compiled a career batting average of .285 with 31 home runs in his 807-game career. On May 12, 1895, he hit four home runs and a double in one seven-inning contest for the Buffalo Bisons.<\/p>\n
Bertha and William came to Bratenahl in 1907 and purchased their home at 89 Burton Road (Now 10109 Burton) on December 5, 1907. William became a lithographer but devoted his morning and evening hours helping with the chickens.<\/p>\n
Bertha died on October 10, 1946. William died on March 15, 1956, in Geneva, Ohio. Both are buried at Whitehaven Memorial Park in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t People Notable People Bertha Bottenus – Backyard Poultry Farmer Bertha Bottenus What a woman can accomplish by raising chickens in a suburban lot has been demonstrated by Bertha Bottenus. In early 1912, she and her husband decided to raise a few chickens for outdoor activity and employment. Bertha soon became thoroughly invested in her chickens…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6223","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/bb-plugin\/img\/pixel.png\"){kind=tracking}
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBack to People\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNotable People List\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"