New Zealand’s preferred protein

The domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is New Zealand’s preferred protein, according to the Foodstuffs supermarket chain. Oblivious to the acclaim, this rooster runs free near the Baton River Road ford. Gallus, the genus name, is Latin for rooster. Gallus contains four species of junglefowl, and the red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, is the wild version of our ordinary, everyday chicken. Captain Cook gave chickens to Maori in both the North and the South Island during his 1773-1774 voyage. Up until around the 1940s, chicken were kept mainly for eggs rather than for meat, and chicken was only eaten if a bird had aged out of the egg-laying business.