The unofficial state bird of Pennsylvania

If you were to name which non-native bird, living in Pennsylvania, represented best rural Pennsylvania, you most likely would name the domestic chicken. In most neighborhood, the sunrise is meet with the crowing of a rooster. Drive down many rural lanes and you will be greeted by a flock of chicken scavenging for bugs on the side of the road.

When my daughter was young, her best friend was a Rhode Island Red, named Bellina. Bellina willingly let Meagan push her in a stroller around the yard often with a small blanket if the day had a bit of a chill about it. Besides Bellina there were four other chickens, all named specific for their humanistic attributes (Zena, Gabriel, David Bowie, and Esmeralda). Many of my neighbors also kept chicken and town wide potlucks always had plenty of egg dishes options.

Central Pennsylvania's love affair with chickens goes way, way back. Today much of the nations' poultry comes from central Pennsylvania, Amish and Mennonite farms throughout the region raise chickens as well as many residents whether as a home hobby or a project of FFA or 4H