More Chickens 101-First Chickens in Americas Were Brought From Polynesia

 Of Course you Already Know, Fried Chicken is Really Chinese Food.

That is right, not a typo. The original ancestors of all domestic chickens came from China.

The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the red junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, with a population of more than 19 billion in 2011. There are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird or domestic animal. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and their eggs.

The earliest known domestication occurred in Northern China 8,000 BCE determined from archaeological chicken bones

Why did the chicken cross the Pacific Ocean? To get to the other side, in South America. How? By Polynesian canoes, which apparently arrived at least 100 years before Europeans settled the continent. Such is the conclusion of an international research team, which reported that it had found “the first unequivocal evidence for a pre-European introduction of chickens to South America,” or presumably anywhere in the New World. The researchers said that bones buried on the South American coast were from chickens that lived between 1304 and 1424. Pottery at the site was from a similar or earlier time. A DNA analysis linked the bones, which were excavated at El Arenal on the Arauca Peninsula in south central Chile, to chickens from Polynesian islands. The presence of the South American sweet potato in pre-European sites in Polynesia also indicates some prehistoric contact between the Americas and the Polynesian islands.

The findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The lead author Alice A. Storey, an anthropologist at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and other team members are from American Samoa, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Much later; in Northern Italy, near the port of Leghorn, were found a landrace of fowls, known as Livornese. Smallish in body, but which lay very many eggs. In 1852, Captain Gates entered the harbour at Mystic, CT, and arrived with the first importation of Leghorn chickens that were to be ancestors of today’s flocks. The birds were what we now call Brown or Red in colour. In 1853 F.J. Kinney received an importation of Brown/Red Leghorns at Boston Harbour, while Mr. Simpson received a shipment of White Leghorns. From this point, forward Leghorn chickens began to win the hearts of North Americans. The Best Egg-Layer of the older most familiar breeds: They’re generally friendly, though they can be noisy and a bit aggressive at times. Leghorns are good layers of white eggs, laying an average of 280 per year and sometimes reaching 300–320. Better egg layer than brooder

Rhode Island Red: The Best Dual-Purpose Bird: Easy to care for and a good layer! Theyare a popular choice for backyard flocks because of their egg laying abilities and hardiness. Although they can sometimes be stubborn, healthy hens can lay up to 5–6 eggs per week depending on their care and treatment.

Rhode Island Red hens lay many more eggs than an average hen if provided plenty of quality feed.

Buff Orpington: The Best Pet Chicken:

The one caution on this breed is that their docile nature will often make them a target for bullying from other birds.

Bred to be an excellent layer with good meat quality. They can go broody very often, and make great mothers. Due to their build they do well in very cold climates. If you choose to raise a Buff Orpington, be careful not to add aggressive breeds to your flock.

Delaware: The Meaty Bird: Delaware’s are inquisitive and friendly, and generally low maintenance birds. They do tend to have tough moults though, and while most have mild dispositions, some can be a bit cranky.

Delawares are hardy birds that mature quickly. Hens are good layers of large to jumbo brown eggs and will go broody. Not the friendliest bird in the yard but a good layer.

 Ameraucana (sometimes mis-spelled Americana): AKA the Easter-Egger: This breed makes wonderful backyard chickens. They will thrive well either in confinement or free-ranging. They have a calm, non-aggressive disposition, and are very easy to handle. This is possibly the best bird for a family with kids.

The Wyandotte

is a docile, dual-purpose breed kept for their large brown eggs and for meat. Wyandotte hens are devoted mothers. The Wyandotte is a versatile chicken and can adapt to different temperatures. These chickens do fine on free range or in a fenced in yard. The hens will lay around 200 eggs a year. The Wyandotte is a hen that will need her vent checked regularly because of the thickness of her tail feathers she is prone to become clogged if not kept clean.

True Meat Breed: It's not the breed, it's the strain.

Jersey Giant-Weight: TEN POUNDS-a capon of course, would be even larger.

Big, sweet and a truly gentle giant, this ten pound bird is the least economical chicken out there. It is not a good enough layer, though it is a fair layer, to be worthwhile there and it simply eats too much to make it worth while on the dinner table. But, if you're looking for a sweet and loving bird that loves to be picked up and petted, this is the best bird for you. And even though they aren't great layers, the hens are robust and hardy, and quite willing to work steadily through the winter.

Brahma: Weight: 9 Pounds

The origins of the Brahma have been in dispute for more than 150 years. They were introduced in the 19th century to either London or New York and were probably imported from Shanghai, however it is also possible they came from China, India or some other East Indies port. They have also been called Chittagongs, Shanghais, and Brahmapootras. They are fair layers of brown, average sized eggs and very robust and cold hardy. They are very gentle birds which is good as their size could make them quite formidable.

Cochin: Weight: 8 1/2 lbs.

An uncommon chicken, this bird hails from China and shared a name with the Brahma, Shanghai. This breed launched interesting poultry shows as they resemble a large ball of fluff and feathers. Interestingly, the bantam version of this bird is known as a Pekin instead of a Bantam Cochin, though you can certainly find them for sale under the Bantam Cochin moniker. They lay a small, yellowy brown egg and are robust and cold hardy. They are calm, docile and easily handled.

Cornish Game: Weight: 8lbs.

These are the meat birds of the poultry industry and with a solid 8 lbs, it's not hard to see why. They were developed in Cornwall and are often breed with Plymouth Rocks to make the excellent birds we all love to eat. They are a poor layer of small eggs but cold hardy and early maturing. Easily contained, they are less active and more docile than most other game birds.

Orpington: Weight: 8 lbs.

A dual purpose bird, the Orpington is a bit small on the weight side but definitely not on the appearance side. The loose feathering makes the Orpington appear much larger (nearly two times) the size of some other hens and when they are brooding or aggressive they fluff out and appear even bigger. The Orpington is a good layer of above average sized eggs and hardy in all weather. Cold doesn't faze them so you can expect them to continue laying during the cold seasons!

Before the onset of the Cornish Cross broilers, the meat breeds were usually Delaware, New Hampshire, or White Rock. Chosen mainly because the light coloured feathers gave a prettier carcass plucked. You can see the dark pin feathers much easier than the light coloured ones.

But, these breeds were bred and maintained for maximum meat production. Unless you reinforce certain traits in each generation of chickens by selecting your breeders for these traits, you quickly lose those traits. Hatcheries do not select for those traits that give you good meat production. They are in the business of mass producing chickens for backyard flocks, not specialty meat birds. That's what the Cornish Cross is for. You are not going to find good dual-purpose meat birds from a hatchery. It is not a breed thing. It is purely the way they select their breeders.~~Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan.