The History Behind the Chicken

What if I told you that the hundreds of chicken breeds that exist today were all developed from one or two breeds of wild chickens? Well, that is a true statement! Pictured to the left is a Red Jungle Fowl rooster, the breed that is widely agreed upon as the primary ancestor of our modern chickens. As a matter of fact, these Red Jungle Fowl are still in the wild today throughout Asia. 

So, how did hundreds of chicken breeds stem from one or two primary ancestors? 

Dating back to ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and so on (probably even before then), these Jungle Fowl were domesticated and were selectively bred over time to get desirable traits, such as more eggs, more meat, fighting capabilities (for cockfighting), colors, and climate adaptation. Some of the first recorded instances of chickens being artificially hatched in incubators have been found in Egyptian writings, and with those first advents of incubators, the process had begun toward achieving higher egg production per chicken. 

The "golden-age" of the chicken throughout ancient history perhaps reached an all time high during the Roman Empire. During the time of the Roman Empire, large flocks of chickens were common (the ancient equivalent of commercial chicken farming) and were relatively successful because the chickens were able to be kept safe from predators, and chicken was regarded as an amazing food; so amazing, in fact, that the omelet and stuffed chicken was invented. Of course, chicken farmers at the time were trying to get more eggs and more meat from each chicken. Different feeding practices, such as feeding bread soaked in wine, were experimented with to try to increase weight gains. At one point, the practice of overfeeding chickens was outlawed, and chicken consumption had a cap placed on it (1 per meal). The supposed purpose of these laws were to prevent moral decline among the people. 

After the decline of the Roman Empire, the popularity of the chicken declined as well. In western Europe, birds such as ducks, geese, and partridge predominated medieval dinner tables, while in North America, the continent already had numerous amounts of turkeys, ducks, geese, ect... which lessened the demand for chickens. 

Up until electricity was widely accessible, chickens were almost never kept in buildings, because without light, chickens won't lay eggs, or grow for that matter. It wasn't really until after World War II that chickens became commercially farmed again since Roman times. However, the chicken that was farmed in the 1950's was far superior to the chickens that were farmed in Rome, and contrarily, the chickens that are farmed today are far superior to the chickens that were farmed in the 1950's. Since electricity came along later, commercial chicken farming lagged behind, compared with commercial beef and pork production. However, once chicken farming began to "come online," it took off dramatically. By the mid '90's, chicken was surpassing beef in annual consumption, which at the time averaged out to about 80 lbs of chicken per person per year in the U.S. 

Chicken, whether eggs or meat, has been a very important player in food history, and history in general. From being worshiped during ancient times, all the way to being praised as the most efficient protein producing animal in modern times, chickens continue to be a significant player in the world. 

Source used: Smithsonian Magazine