Poultry is one of the most popular foods on the entire planet, and its popularity continues to grow year after year. In 2019, the amount of poultry produced worldwide expanded to over 130 million tonnes—an increase of almost 4% from the previous year. Experts believe that this growth will continue into the foreseeable future. With the demand for poultry rising all over the world, it’s probably the right time to begin celebrating National Poultry Day. This holiday falls on March 19th and is a day on which people can enjoy poultry and recognize the hard work of poultry farmers.

The History of National Poultry Day

Some people say that National Poultry Day started as a humble event observed in the town of Versailles, Ohio, in the early 1950s. This festival took place over a two-day period and allowed chicken farmers to showcase their poultry. Over time, the festival grew until thousands of people were showing up for the event every year. Now, small towns all over the U.S. have their own National Poultry Day celebrations, and it’s even being celebrated in other countries as well.

Facts About Poultry

As we dug deep into the facts surrounding this holiday, we came across some fascinating facts about poultry that we just couldn’t keep to ourselves. The following facts are sure to interest anyone looking to celebrate National Poultry Day. Let’s look at them, shall we?

• Some scientists believe that chickens were first domesticated not as a food source but for use in cockfights.
• Chickens are omnivorous and will eat anything from grain to small mice and lizards.
• There are more than 25 billion chickens in the world. That means they outnumber humans 3-to-1.
• A female chicken can eject a rooster’s sperm if she decides that she doesn’t want it.
• The chicken was the first bird to have its genome sequenced. This happened in 2004.
• Chickens can fly just enough to make it into a tree or to get over a fence.
• Chickens are descended from junglefowl, and dinosaurs are their distant relatives.
• Chickens can dream. They also can sleep with half their brain, allowing them to keep one eye open for predators.
• The United States had the highest poultry production in 2019, producing over 23 million tonnes.
• China is number two in poultry production, producing 20 million tonnes of poultry in 2019.
• The third-largest country in terms of poultry production is Brazil. They produced over 16 million tonnes in 2019.

Observing National Poultry Day

Anyone looking to celebrate this holiday in style can easily do so by simply serving up their favorite poultry for dinner. It could be chicken, duck, turkey, quail, red junglefowl, helmeted guineafowl, pheasant, or geese. You can also head to the Poultry Festival in Versailles, Ohio, and see what they have going on. Finally, you can take the time to thank all the people who make your nice chicken or turkey dinner possible by thanking them on social media using the hashtag #NationalPoultryDay.