Which Came First ? Understanding Where Chicken Sayings Came From

I used to wonder where all the old farm sayings came from, "Wait 'til the cows come home", "Hold your horses", "Madder than a wet hen".....well, since having a horse and the chickens and ducks, I wonder no more. 

It doesn't take too long being around animals before you realize the sayings came into being and have now become part of our vernacular because they are so universal to animal behavior.

The day I told our horse "hold your horses" as he was literally "chomping at the bit" to get his breakfast, I knew that I was a bona fide farm girl, immersed in the lives of our animals.

Here are some of the more common expressions that have been plucked (pun intended) from the world of chickendom...