When in a classic farang " What have Thais ever done or invented that benefited the human race? discussion, someone mentioned that he had read somewhere that the Siamese were the first people to ever domesticate the common chicken for meat and egg production ( food).

If this is true, it is a major contribution to the development of the human race!

Chicken meat and eggs are one of the main sources of protein for humans on the planet.

I have yet to meet anyone who can confirm, prove or disprove this claim.

Wikipedia states that chickens were first bred in India for fighting purposes, but not used for food. Later chickens were imported from Inda to Asia Minor and south east Asia where they were used for food.

Can anyone out there add to this, prove or disprove the claim?

Just curious....

Not sure, but they were first to use chicken for GAI PAD KRAPOW and that has to count for something!

Who knows, but I found this interesting http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/

But we still don't know why the chicken crossed the road.

Even more thought provoking:

Q Why did the chicken cross the mobius strip?

A To get to the same side

The timeline in the Wiki article suggests that Chickens arrived in SE Asia before the Thai peoples did.

I suspect sea trading routes between India, Burma and Malaya likely candidates - perhaps southern Thailand (the history of which is only recently Thai).

Chickens (aka Red Jungle Fowl) are native to SEAsia, so it wouldn't be surprising if the Thais (or the inhabitants of what is now Thailand) were the first to domesticate them'

They're such stupid creatures that it's amazing they've survived this long. My dog, however, is grateful.

Not sure, but they were first to use chicken for GAI PAD KRAPOW and that has to count for something!

And how well does that basil go with Chicken!!

mmm mmm.

Are Thai chickens always black? The ones I have seen tend to be that colour, and long and skinny compared to Western chickens.