This month, September, is National Chicken Month.

Chickens are a type of domesticated poultry, and are the most common type in the world. Chickens were one of the earliest domesticated animals, along with pigs and dogs, and are believed to be descended from the Red Junglefowl of India. The domestication of chickens dates back at least five thousand years. They are one of the easiest domestic food animals to raise, although intensive farming methods are not as popular with many consumers as they used to be.

Chickens are a very common food source. Both their eggs and their flesh are eaten, and are prepared in many different ways in many different cuisines from around the world. Chicken is a low fat meat when compared to other meats, especially red meat, with most of the fat concentrated under the skin rather than in the flesh.

Deep fried chicken is common in fast food, although this is certainly not the healthiest way to prepare it.

Image: TreblRebl at English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons