Unlike today, during colonial times children were expected to perform many house chores such as picking feathers off the chickens and geese for a meal, washing dishes, tending tobacco and even looking after the younger brothers and sisters. Most children in the colonial times began working on the farm at a very young age. They were expected to feed the animals, collect eggs, pick fruits and vegetables and milk cows. During meals, children were asked to remain silent during the entire course of the meals. They were to eat as fast as they could in silence and they had to leave the table right away once they finished the meal.