Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Answer 1

According to creationists who believe in Biblical inerrancy, birds were created "on the fifth day". Since there is no reference to the creation of eggs, they presumably were then made by chickens afterwards by the normal process. Therefore, the chicken came first.



Biological Answers
In this case, the egg is not assumed to be a chicken egg. In effect this changes the question to: "Which came first, a chicken or any egg".

From a cellular biology point of view this question can be answered quite easily. The egg came first because any female sex cell is called an egg.

If the egg is defined structurally as the hard shelled thing, and the chicken a feather covered animal, the answer is still simple. Evolutionary scientists believe the first hard shell egg was the amniotic egg laid around 300 million years ago, and was laid by the animal who was the link between amphibians and reptiles. One of the first dinosaurs that we know had feathers was the Archaeopteryx, and came much later. Modern birds would not arise until 150 million years ago, descending from theropod dinosaurs.

In this case, the first chicken must have been the mutated offspring of a proto-chicken that laid the egg containing the first true chicken. In any case, this creature hatched from a recognizable egg. After all, the question is purposefully ambiguous -- it is not, "Which came first, the chicken or the chicken egg?"

The crux of the matter is how to biologically define 'a chicken'. What level of genetic similarity or structural similarity determine whether an organism is a chicken? One can only define what was the first chicken after the fact, thus any definition of the first chicken becomes arbitrary. The question 'which came first?' ignores the complicated reality of speciation. The concept of species is an abstraction intended to categorize a broad swath of genomes and their subsequent phenomes. If one were to do away with approximate categories, each individual 'chicken' actually represents a unique genotype. Under this definition, if a 'chicken' possessing genome A were to lay an egg possessing genome B, then an egg of genome B is antecedent to an animal possessing genome B and that the parent--genome A--is antecedent to, yet different from the egg of genome B. Hence, in an absolute sense, the egg came before the 'chicken.'

According to the principles of speciation, neither the chicken nor the egg came first, because speciation does not occur in simple, obvious units. In fact, evolution is about a slow transition in an overall population. What qualifies as “chicken” (ignoring the many diverse modern types of chicken) involves a wide range of genetic traits (alleles) that are not encompassed in a single individual and continue to be modified from generation to generation.

The transition from non-chicken to chicken is a grey area in which several generations are involved, and therefore which includes many many chicken-and-egg events, with no one step representing the whole. Since the result of the process is an incomplete transition into various new characteristics rather than one single blueprint, a new species, "chicken", is only identified in hindsight when the species can be obviously identified as different from its ancestral stock.

Answer 2

Chicken

Answer 3

very easy
the actual chicken according to those who believe in evolution (not me) would had to come from another species similar to it that evolved into a chicken hence the chicken came first as the egg it came from was not a chicken egg but another animal.
this curiosly is the same as we have said all along that the chicken was created and came first then the egg (now a chicken egg)

Answer 4

Chickens and dinosaurs come from eggs. Assuming evolution brought us the chicken, the egg came first. A chicken egg, though possibly laid by another animal. What hatched was a chicken.

Answer 5

Which came first - the chicken or the egg? "The chicken" came first - in the sentence of the question. If the question is phrased differently, the answer is different.

Answer 6

More than likely the chicken is a mutation of some animal bird. This animal layed an egg and out of it hatched the mutated animal which we call a chicken. Then this chicken mated with other mutants or another of the orginal animal creating more of itself or a hybrid. SO in conclusion the egg came first.

Answer 7

on a spiritual point of view the chicken came first. This is because god created LIFE. A chicken is alive and the egg is not.

Answer 8

Well, Studies have shown that life started with a single cell organism. This was figured by the adaptation that they grew to multiple cells which were mammals. So the correct answer would be "The chicken came before the egg. The truth lies within the following equation. If you can figure this out then we shall all know. How many sea shells she sells down by the seashore x how many pickles peter piper really picked. lol

Answer 9

the egg cuz eggs has been around long b4 the chicken

dinosaurs layed eggs! and there wernt chickens in thoses days.
gimme Best Answer!

Answer 10

From a cellular biology point of view this question can be answered quite easily. The egg came first because any female sex cell is called an egg.