I don’t know about y’all, but I am ready for something to take my mind off all the drama in the world right now. So, here is a post that has “much ado about nothing” but is still interesting.

I am not a geneticist and I don’t study ancestry, but I find the topics very interesting. You may be thinking I am talking about human ancestry, but anyone that knows me knows I am talking about chickens. I used to teach sections on the origins of the domestic chicken because it is literally cool stuff to know and I assume everyone thinks so, as well.

It has been widely accepted since the late 19th century that domesticated chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) derived from the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus). Much of this knowledge was based on Darwin’s research regarding the following: 1) the similarities of color, general structure and voice calls, 2) their fertility rates, 3) the possibility of red jungle fowl being tamed, and 3) the broad phenotypic variation of the red jungle fowl. In addition, Darwin rejected the origins of the domesticated chickens from any other wild jungle fowl because they were infertile when crossed.

Along comes the 21^st century with more modern molecular analyses such as mitochondrial DNA to challenge that well-recognized assumption. Recent research is now focusing on there being multiple wild jungle fowl (Gallus gallus subspecies) which have contributed to our modern-day chicken. In addition, recent genome data has indicated that Gallus gallus spadiceus, which originated from Thailand, Myanmar and Southwest China, may be the main wild ancestor. If the Gallus gallus spadiceus were the first domesticated chickens, then red jungle fowl could have been present during parts of the domestication stages resulting in our current domestic lines. Bone analysis research in this area is ongoing and new information is constantly being added with new molecular techniques.

What does this mean and why do we care? Domesticated (not wild jungle fowl) chickens have been around for 10,00 years in Northern China. Thing about that staggering date — 10,000 years. This means that chickens have played an enormous role in human survival and evolution. In addition, the jungle fowl weigh less than 1 kg and lay very few eggs per year (~4). Look at where we are today with commercial production, genetics and good management to grow a 6.5 lb bird in 42 days (give or take a bit).

Many of you have done the ancestry testing and have really found some interesting facts about your heritage. So, I thought it would be cool to add some chicken heritage into the mix. Plus, it keeps our minds off current drama. My final non-drama bit of information is that there are more chickens than people in the world, about 22 billion domestic chickens. That in itself is saying something about the impact of the chicken industry around the world. Chickens are bred on all continents except two: Antarctica and Vatican City (been there and I am sure I can find a spot for some chickens). Another fun fact is that there are around 1,600 different chicken breeds recognized internationally. How about that for job security!

Keep doing great things — and remember where we started 10,000 years ago domesticating chickens, and where we are today.

A blog about something other than current drama

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