A Rooster And War Re-Enactor Flies The Coop, But A Town Finds Him

CULLMAN, AL — Why did the chicken go to the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Cullman, Alabama?

Obviously, because 18-year-old Thomas Ramsey, the guy a handsome Buff Orpington rooster named Peep was traveling with, was hungry.

And that’s when Peep vamoosed, flew the coop, went on the lam and off on his own again.

Peep was a lonely little chick when Ramsey found him along the side of the road last summer and took him under his, ahem, wing.

Now Peep has a regular gig with Ramsey’s “Muddy Rabbits Mess,” a 32-member military re-enactment group that offers history lessons from Colonial times up to World War II — although most of the re-enactments are of Civil War battles, Ramsey told The Cullman Times.

Peep the rooster was bred to strut his stuff around the barnyard. Orpington chickens are the birds of choice for backyard coops. A little chicken history:

William Cook, a coachman from Orpington in the county of Kent, England, developed the breed, in 1886, his interest in chicken genetics fueled by a desire to see a resurgence in chicken raising, which had fallen out of favor.

He wanted to develop a dual-purpose chicken — a reliable egg layer and a bird big enough to fill a platter on the dinner table.

Orpington chickens are friendly by nature, making them ideal pets. TheHappyChickenCoop.com calls buff Orpingtons the “golden retriever” of chickens, noting “they make good outdoor pets.”

“In fact,” the post continues, “it is recommended that you get buff Orpingtons if you have children that enjoy playing with the flock. Most chicken research deems the buff Orpington as laid back, patient and friendly, who love to receive food treats; and who don’t mind being picked up.”

They’re also a bred for chicken shows — though all the focus on appearance has lowered their egg production.

All this helps explain why Peep came to be with Ramsey and his buddy Jonas Patrick on Jan. 31 when they stopped at the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Jan. 31 for a bite to eat after a Civil War re-enactment in Springhill, Tennessee.

Ramsey, who told The Cullman Times he participates in 16 or 20 re-enactments every year, is a stickler for authenticity. Actors in his Muddy Rabbits Mess re-enactments spend close to a year perfecting their accents, for example.

And that meant when he marched off to (re-created war), Peep preened right along with him.

The chicken keeps it real.

For real, animals had important wartime jobs. Horses, mules and oxen carried the soldiers on their backs and spent their brute strength pulling supply wagons, ambulances and artillery.

Huge herds of chickens, pigs and cattle followed the columns of troops and wagon trains so the armies could eat. Gamecocks — roosters bred for fighting, a practice so cruel it’s now illegal everywhere in the United States — were often regarded as mascots

So, it’s completely legit to see a chicken perched on the edge of a foxhole.

During his battlefield debut, Ramsey’s friend carried the rooster into battle. He popped out of the pouch when the friend was “hit,” and then strutted around, apparently unconcerned about the artillery fire around him.

“There’s bout 10 cannons just blazing and all the rifle fire, and he’s not going crazy,” Ramsey told the Cullman newspaper. “He’s pretty chill.”

It appears Peep had a good life, according to Ramsey’s Instragram account.

So why, oh why, did he fly away?

No one really knows. Because he could may be the most plausible explanation.

Ramsey and Patrick had tied Peep to the bed of the pickup while they went inside the restaurant to eat.

He was gone when they finished.

“I went back into the Cracker Barrel and it was very hard for me to say this with a straight face, even though I was panicking: ‘Do you have cameras in the parking lot? I think someone stole my chicken,’ ” he said.

Cullman wasn’t being terrorized by a rooster stalker.

The rooster just got loose and started roaming, someone said. Ramsey called the local chicken catcher — animal control office, that is — and posted about his lost rooster on Facebook. He continued on home to Mississippi, hopeful but unsure if he would ever see his feathered friend again.

But the rooster and re-enactor have been reunited, thanks to the collective help of folks around Cullman.

Ramsey got the call when he was about 30 minutes away from home. He turned the truck around and headed back to Alabama.

He can’t be sure, but he thinks Peep is happy to be back in his arms.

“He stood up and kind of jumped when I got him,” Ramsey told the Cullman newspaper.