Pigeons, ducks, and geese were bred in China more than 3,000 years ago. Chickens, developed from the Asian jungle fowl, were domesticated probably about the same time. In ancient and medieval times in the Old World, chickens were raised primarily for cockfighting. In the 16th century, chickens were introduced into America from Europe, and turkeys were introduced into Europe from America. After cockfighting was outlawed in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain in the 19th century, poultry fanciers raised chickens for exhibition purposes.

The modern poultry industry began in the late 19th century in Europe and America as breeders began to stress meat and egg production. Although eggs were artificially incubated in ancient China and Egypt, this method of hatching poultry was not used on a commercial scale until the 1870's. The first college department of poultry husbandry was established in 1901 at the Connecticut Agricultural College (now the University of Connecticut).

Discoveries and inventions relating to the scientific housing, feeding, and breeding of poultry led to the rapid expansion of the industry after the 1930's. Production and consumption of poultry products increased markedly during World War II when meat from other livestock was scarce. Since 1945, improved methods of storing and distributing poultry meat and eggs have helped stimulate consumption of these foods. Important in the expansion of the poultry industry has been specialization in raising broilers.

Although the red junglefowl may look a lot like a domestic chicken, it is actually a wild bird that lives in Southeast Asia. There is, however, a good reason that the red junglefowl looks like a chicken—it is the ancestor of the chicken. In prehistoric times, people captured and raised junglefowl for food. Gradually—through a process called domestication—these captured birds became the modern chicken.

People have domesticated other galliforms, such as turkeys, as well. Farmers often breed domestic animals for favorable traits. For example, many farmers allowed only the largest turkeys to breed. Over time, this led to domestic turkeys being much larger than their wild relatives.

Today, millions of chickens and turkeys are raised on farms. They outnumber their wild relatives.