Many of us dream of abandoning the rat race of the city and migrating to “the country” for a more satisfying self-sustaining existence. For some, this new life includes the desire to have a few chickens pecking around the backyard or barnyard, providing us with the freshest eggs at little or no cost. The answer to the age-old question “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” is neither. It was the dinosaur. A recent study has shown that the chicken is a direct descendant of the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur.
It is estimated that 11 billion chickens populate the planet and they all are derived from the Red Jungle Fowl Gallus gallus, of southern and southeastern Asia. According to some estimates, half a million households now keep chickens. There are many, many breeds and varieties of chickens which are kept for eggs, meat, and exhibition. Chickens are very social birds and use about 30 different sounds to communicate. If you pay attention to the sounds they make as they engage in different activities, you’ll soon be able to close your eyes and know what they are doing by the sound. Whether they are in the backyard or in the barnyard, raising chickens is educational and by watching them interact you will learn something about how all birds live and behave.