The Blue Hen Chicken became Delaware’s Official State Bird on April 14, 1939

The Blue Hen Chicken became Delaware‘s Official State Bird on April 14, 1939.

The University of Delaware with its Blue Hen Athletics proudly proclaims these chickens as symbols of true patriotic ideals and the bravery of our ancestors in the American Revolutionary War.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens strain of gamecocks originated from Captain John Caldwell (Captain Jonathan Caldwell) and his troops of the Second Company of Delaware Regiment of 1775. The original hen was of color blue. The troop are said to have staged cockfights and the Blue Hen’s ferocity and success in fighting spread rapidly and the troops’ valor spread too.