When considering chickens, the question always arises: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” This single conundrum has plagued the great thinkers of human civilization for millennia. Of course, it has no real answer because its purpose is simply to illustrate that some questions don’t have answers, and yet the debate will continue long into the future. However, while the debate rages with little chance of any resolution, we have chickens and eggs to fill our lives with both pleasure and nutrition.
The chicken has become entwined in the lives of most of the world’s population. In any restaurant or café, chicken and eggs are prominent fare on the menu. In knick-knack and general-household stores, chickens of all shapes and sizes are prominently on display, immortalized in stylized paintings and sculptures, and chicken feathers are found in many crafts, hats, pillows, and fishing flies. Chickens have also become part of our language, in sayings such as “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” “You’ve got egg on your face,” “The hen-pecked husband flew the coop,” and “Don’t get your hackles up.”
In recent years, the poultry and egg industries have become the primary producers of protein consumed by over half of the population of the world. The chickens used to produce these foodstuffs have developed into the most efficient traditional livestock species on the planet, returning the highest level of product—meat and eggs—for the least amount of feed.
In small farms and even in urban settings, chickens have gained in popularity. Small flocks of a handful of hens are supplying eggs to many families and their neighbors while providing life lessons, responsibility, and the hard realization of life and death to countless numbers of children.
This book will lead the reader through the origins and history of the birds we know as chickens. The complexity of the lowly egg is explained, including how it is formed, its quality criteria, and the conditions that result in baby chicks. Potential and new small producers will learn of the variety of egg-laying breeds and their temperaments, as well as the basic management conditions and practices required to house a small flock, including the proper care and feeding of these impressive animals.
We may not answer the questions as to why the chicken crossed the road or whether the chicken or the egg came first, but we will lead you on an exciting journey into the world of the chicken and the egg.