Did You Know New Hampshire Has an Official State Chicken?

You have probably heard about the "official New Hampshire state" bird (purple finch), tree (white birch), or flower (purple lilac), but did you know that New Hampshire has an official state poultry?

We do and it's all because of fourth graders.

Let's dive in.

How Did New Hampshire Get a State Chicken?

Fourth graders from Caanan Elementary School recommended that the "NH Red Chicken" be the State's Official poultry,

The teacher and his students actually took the steps to create a bill and get it in front of the NH Senate. In June 2018, Governor Chris Sununu passed the bill.

The fourth graders say that the chickens are intelligent. I am sure they are, but I try to forget that because in my opinion, chickens are tasty. I don't want to know if they are smart or not.

The teacher said, according to WMUR, that it has been quite a proud moment for him and the students to go from getting the idea to seeing the bill pass.

Canaan, New Hampshire, is located in the Upper Valley, and I am certain that they have more residential chickens than people in the Southern part of the state do.

On the New Hampshire Seacoast, there are more and more people who keep chickens at their homes. It could be because the price of eggs went up so high, and it is just a less expensive option.

New Hampshire Red chickens are listed as "threatened" on the conservation priority list, according to lafeber.com.