As the 1800’s went on toward 1900, the population in the United States increased by more than 7 times. As more people moved from the rural farms to the cities, more food had to be shipped into the cities and increased the demand for farm goods. Inventors responded to this need, sort of.

Hunting Decoy

To help hunters stay hidden from game, such as ducks and geese, Mr. John Slevers, Jr., invented a hunting decoy in 1897. His invention was a cow suit, just like the cow costumes you see in movies. Two hunters, one in the back and another in the front, would climb into the cow suit and pull the solid head onto the front and close up the cloth flaps on the sides. They could then roam the fields like any other cow and fool a flock of passing birds into landing nearby, or sneak up on a deer. There were holes in different parts of the cow suit for looking out at the nearby land and sky and, since the suit was so large and roomy, plenty of extra room to store your guns, and even a lunch.

Chicken Eye Protector

For the farm-raised animals, other inventors had helpful ideas. Since chickens will peck at anything that annoys them or gets in the way of their feeding, keeping hundreds of chickens in a large coop meant that many fights would break out between the chickens every day. Hoping to save these birds from injuring each other, Andrew Jackson, Jr. invented the eye protector for chickens in 1903. He thought his invention would help prevent many birds from being blinded or killed in the pecking fights that occurred. His safety glasses for chickens were worn just like an ordinary pair of safety goggles and had an adjustable strap, so that the farmer could adjust the glasses to fit any size or type of chicken.