What came first: the chicken or the egg?

The classic question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, can be answered in a variety of ways.  Perhaps the more troubling part is that each answer is correct!  Depending no how the question is approached will dictate which correct answer most directly applies.  This forum is not suitable for addressing every situation or approach, but a few of the more prominent ones are discussed. 

The easiest approach is via creationism.  Creationism refers to any religion which is based on the belief God(s) spontaneously created the world and all living animals.  In this scenario, the chicken would logically come first as the spontaneous result of a divine command. (Chicken 1, Egg 0)

Quantum theory might suggest they co-occurred.  In theory neither the chicken nor the egg existed until observed as a phenomenon in nature.  When the chicken was created, the ability to lay eggs, a natural process for chickens, was created inherently as part of the whole. (Chicken 2, Egg 1)

Philosophical examinations of the question might lead down several winding paths.  One path would argue neither the chicken nor the egg must come first.  The chicken must be alive to lay an egg.  The egg the chicken hatched from is not its egg but rather the egg of the mother hen.  Therefore, if the chicken and the egg in question are bound by ownership, then the only egg the chicken owns is one it lays.  Existentially, whatever attributes are attributed to it, it is not a chicken until it hatches, despite the possibility it could be a chicken.  For example, we eat scrambled eggs, which are the yolks from the eggs.  We don't say we eat scrambled chicken. (Chicken 3, Egg 1)

Evolution points to the egg being first.  Archeologists have uncovered evidence of egg nests dating to about 77 million years ago.  These egg laying dinosaurs far pre-date chickens.  This indicates the egg came first and was later part of the chicken's evolution.  The problem again revolves around the definition and general use of the word chicken.  The domestic chicken evolved from a variety of jungle fowl, most commonly the red and gray jungle fowl.  Cross-breeding throughout generations led to the domestic chicken stock.  Following the scientific logic, the egg was essential in creating the domestic chicken breed and therefore came first. (Chicken 3, Egg 2)

In a general approach, the basic matters of life suggest the egg came first.  Two birds, not chickens, provided the genetic material for the egg.  Once the egg was hatched and the animal deemed a chicken, then the egg from whence it emerged would be the first chicken egg, supposing egg ownership is attributed to the emergent chicken and not the parents. (Chicken 3, Egg 3)

In reality, there is no one way to answer this question.  The answer depends on the scientific or philosophical approach to the question.  Even then, both sides of the argument make valid points.  It is a good thought exercise, but ultimately it is only that and not a reasonable question with a single answer.