Chicken

May’s NH Harvest of the Month: chicken!

Chickens became domesticated 8,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Chickens are the closest living relative to dinosaurs. Chickens have better vision than humans and can see ultraviolet light. The color of chicken eggs is determined by the color of the chicken’s earlobe, not its feathers. There are more chickens on earth, about 25 billion, than any other bird and there are more than 60 breeds of chickens.

The New Hampshire Red is a breed developed in the early 1900s by New Hampshire farmers who wanted to improve on the existing Rhode Island Reds. The farmers focused on breeding hens that were fast growing, early to lay, and hardy in the colder winters of New Hampshire. Poulet a la Moambe is the national dish of Congo/DRC. It’s a chicken stew made with onions, tomato, herbs and spices. In Guatemala, Pepian de Pollo is considered the national dish. It is also a type of stew and is made with tomato, pumpkin seed, and chilis. In Indonesia, chicken is typically fried, ayam goring, or grilled, ayam bakar, and served with rice and a sambal.

This webpage includes a variety of educational materials, activities, recipes, and more about chicken for use at home, in youth or family programming, in the classroom, and in the cafeteria. For more New Hampshire Harvest of the Month resources for May, click here.

Home Kit for Chicken

Teacher, families, youth programs, and anyone
interested in incorporating chicken into activities,
meals, and learning can use this home kit. This kit includes information, cooking tips, recipes, mini-activities, and more.

Download here (in English)
Download here (in Spanish)

Poster for Chicken

Display your love for chicken! Download the
New Hampshire Harvest of the Month poster at the
link below. The file is in PDF format and is sized to
print on 11×17 inch paper.

Download here

Videos about Chicken

“How to Butcher a Chicken:
10-Piece Country Cut,” ChefSteps

Books about Chicken

My Chickens Lay Eggs by Sherry Crelin
The Problem with Chickens by Bruce McMillan
Eggs and Chickens: The Wisdom on Hens
by Jane Kurtz (in Somali and English)
The Rooster Who Would Not be Quiet
by Carmen Agra Deedy

Lesson Plan for Chicken

Developed in partnership with UNH Extension, NH Farm to School, and the UNH Education department, the Harvest Lessons lesson plan and curricular activities can be used by education professionals to incorporate chicken into dynamic, long-lasting learning in the classroom and other education-based settings.

Lesson Plan Supplements
Click to download the lesson plan supplements to support learning through the activities in the lesson plan.
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Download here