How Chickens Made Their Way to North America
Chickens are so commonplace today in North America—ubiquitous on farms, in backyard coops, and on dinner plates—that it's easy to assume they’ve always been here. But like horses, pigs, and cattle, chickens are not native to the Americas. Their journey to North America is a story of ancient domestication, transoceanic voyages, and cultural diffusion that reflects centuries of human migration, trade, and colonization.
The Origins of the Chicken
The domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) descends from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), a bird native to Southeast Asia. Archaeological evidence places the initial domestication of chickens in parts of modern-day Thailand, India, and China as early as 2000 BCE. These early chickens spread with trade and conquest, eventually reaching the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
In the Old World, chickens were valued not just for meat and eggs but also for religious rituals, cockfighting, and divination. By the time of the Roman Empire, chickens were a familiar feature of Mediterranean agriculture. They slowly moved north and west, reaching the British Isles and Scandinavia by the early Middle Ages.
Did Chickens Reach the Americas Before Columbus?
The question of whether chickens were present in the Americas before European contact has sparked scholarly debate. A controversial 2007 study of chicken bones found on the Arauco Peninsula in Chile suggested a pre-Columbian Polynesian introduction, possibly via seafarers who navigated from the South Pacific to South America. The genetic markers of those bones bore similarities to chicken breeds from Polynesia rather than Europe.
However, subsequent studies questioned the accuracy of the radiocarbon dating and genetic analysis. Today, the dominant academic consensus holds that while pre-Columbian contact between Polynesians and Native Americans is plausible—and may have occurred in other ways—there is no definitive proof that chickens arrived in the Americas before the Columbian exchange.
Chickens and the Columbian Exchange
What is certain is that chickens arrived in the Americas in the wake of European exploration and colonization, part of the vast ecological and cultural upheaval known as the Columbian Exchange. When Christopher Columbus set out on his second voyage in 1493, he brought with him a menagerie of Old World animals, including chickens. These were likely Spanish breeds such as the Castilian, adapted for both egg laying and meat production.
Spanish colonists quickly established chickens in the Caribbean and brought them to the mainland as they explored and settled parts of present-day Mexico, Central America, and the American Southwest. The Spanish introduced chickens to what is now Florida by the early 1500s, and they were likely present in New Mexico by the time of Juan de Oñate’s expedition in 1598.
French, Dutch, and English settlers also brought chickens with them to North America. By the early 1600s, chickens were living in the English colonies along the Atlantic coast. Their ability to thrive in diverse climates, eat scraps, and provide reliable protein made them an essential part of colonial homesteads. Unlike larger livestock, chickens could be kept in small spaces and required little infrastructure—perfect for subsistence farming.
Indigenous Adoption and Adaptation
Once introduced, chickens were quickly adopted by many Indigenous communities across the continent. Native peoples integrated them into traditional diets and economies, often incorporating them alongside wild birds like turkeys or game fowl. In the Southwest, Pueblo peoples and others raised chickens in parallel with indigenous crops like corn and beans, adapting European introductions to suit existing ecological systems and culinary traditions.
In some cases, chickens replaced traditional foods that were becoming harder to obtain due to displacement, overhunting, or ecological change. This adoption reflects a broader pattern of Indigenous resilience and adaptation in the face of colonization.
Chickens in the Modern Era
By the 18th and 19th centuries, chickens were firmly entrenched in American agricultural life. Breed specialization became more common, with the development of distinct types for meat (broilers) and eggs (layers). Industrialized poultry farming took off in the 20th century, transforming the chicken into a staple of the global food system.
Yet alongside the factory farms, chickens continue to live in backyard coops and small-scale homesteads, sometimes in ways that echo the early colonial or Indigenous uses. They remain a symbol of both continuity and change in North America’s long agricultural history.