Tidbits Hatches a few Facts About Chickens

With the celebration of Thanksgiving upon us this week and household menus centered around turkey as the dining table centerpiece, Tidbits turns our attention for a moment to Tom's smaller cousin -- the chicken. We've got more facts about this ubiquitous bird than you can shake a fork at, so prepare to stuff yourself on chicken information overload!

CHICKEN BY THE NUMBERS

• It's estimated there are about 50 billion chickens in the world, making it the most abundant bird on Earth. There are about ten billion chickens in North America alone, while the North American wild bird population numbers only about four billion.

• Today, between home-cooked meals, restaurant and fast-food consumption, the average American eats about 90 pounds of chicken each year, averaging about 23 birds per person. Americans consume about 50 pounds of beef per year along with about 40 pounds of pork.

• There are more chickens in the U.S. than there are cows, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks, rabbits and turkeys combined.

• The chicken is the most industrialized animal in history, and Americans consume more chicken than any other country in the world. Over 8.6 billion chickens are eaten every year in the U.S., while about 40 billion are consumed annually worldwide.

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