Chicken-Poul

When the first settlers arrived on 12 August 1770 on board Le Telemaque they would have brought with them some livestock including chicken. This is because when, in January 1771, two ships were sent to the new colony to check on the settlers and offer any assistance they require, they took chicken back with them to Mauritius. The two ships were L’Heure de Berger under the command of Chevalier Duroslan, and L’Etoile du Matin under the command of Chevalier d’Hercé . They stayed up until end of March. When they went back to Port-Louis, Mauritius, L’Heure du Berger carried among other things 25 chickens and L’Etoile du Matin carried 25 chickens. Furthermore, in October 1771, L’Etoile du Matin , on another trip, took back 45 chickens. It appears that chickens thrived in their new environment to the extent that the new settlers were exporting them back to Mauritius.

In my youth, most household would have a small chicken coop known in creole as kaso poule or kabann poul. It would be located at the back of the house and built of chicken wire and covered with latanier leaves, a local palm the leaves of which were used extensively to thatch houses. The type of construction kept the coop cool during the day. The coop would also have a perch usually made of bamboo slats, or chicken wire, on which the chicken would retire at night to stay safe from predators.

Chicken in Yard

The chicken would be confined to the coop at night and released during the day to forage in the gardens. All chicken would be checked every morning and those that would be laying on the day were kept in and only those that were not going to lay on the day were released. They would lay their eggs on the ground that was covered with dried grass. Checking a chicken for eggs required a special skill that is beyond the scope of this blog!

Each coop had one or two roosters. The roosters were a necessity to get fertile eggs and to act as a clock in the mornings! Many people who could not afford clocks would wake up at the crowing for the rooster. They would crow at very specific time in the morning in anticipation of the light, generally starting their pre-dawn crowing around two hours before sunrise.Now , because they get disturbed by street and vehicle lights they crow at almost any time and is no longer an accurate way to judge to time to wake up!

The chicken would be fed with grated coconut from which the milk has been extracted. This, plus the foraging assisted in balancing their diet. The chicken was primarily kept for eggs which were not easily available in the shops and when they reached the end of their production cycle they would be earmarked for the cooking pot. They would be reserved for special occasions like Easter, Christmas or the occasional Sundays. The meat would invariably be tough and but very flavoursome when cooked on slow, moist heat. Chicken was rarely roasted and this was due to the absence of ovens in the traditional kitchen and more importantly the chicken were just too tough to roast. Pot roasting in cast iron pot or marmite was quite popular on special occasions, but it was mainly applicable to pork or beef.

The chicken is usually cut into twelve or even fourteen pieces as the smaller pieces absorb the spices in the cooking process and mix better in the rice dishes and also easier to distribute among guests.