ABSTRACT
When the Spanish arrived in the New World, the hen embodied an ideal animal food: it was healthy, tasty and economically profitable. In fact, according to humoural theories, the hen’s meat was believed “light” and “hot” and its taste was appreciated. With little human effort, in the domestic environment, the hen produced eggs and meat. This triad encouraged the Spanish crown to introduce the breeding of hens among natives as part of a policy aimed to integrate indigenous people in patterns of production and consumption associated with the Christian lifestyle. This chapter examines poultry practices in a specific context, the New Kingdom of Granada, in order to investigate how this imposition was adapted to local communities as well as indigenous appropriations of poultry breeding.
