Earlier this year, readers enjoyed the tale of Mike the headless chicken.
He miraculously managed to live on for two years after having his head lopped off, and there must be many a turkey out there wondering if they could do the same.
To be fair to chickens, many a movie and TV show focuses on the usual boring cats, dogs and mice.
In Wild Western world, of course, horses and cattle get all the attention, and the humble chicken could be forgiven for thinking they had become invisible to us.
Except when we’re hungry, of course.
Thankfully, there actually have been more than a few famous chickens through the years, and these feathered celebrities have made us laugh and cry every bit as much as any Tom, Jerry or Lassie
This week, we hope to create a stir that will have feathers flying as our readers argue over the ones we omitted from this Top 10…
1 MIKE THE HEADLESS CHICKEN
When farmer Lloyd Olsen was sent outside to get a chicken for dinner in Colorado in 1945, he lopped off Mike’s head with an axe.
He hadn’t however, hit the jugular vein and also left most of the brain stem intact.
This meant Mike could still balance and walk around, and for the rest of his remarkable life he became very famous, touring the country with crowds amazed to see him.
2 CORNELIUS THE KELLOGG’S ROOSTER
Kellogg came up with their first product, Corn Flakes, in 1906, but Cornelius only made his debut in the 1950s.
“With his green body, red comb and yellow beak, Cornelius – or Corny, as he is sometimes called – is the symbol of waking up and getting the morning off to a good start,” they say.
3 FOGHORN LEGHORN
This guy’s been a star even longer than Cornelius, having debuted in 1946’s Walky Talky Hawky.
His personality was inspired by a Senator Claghorn, an imaginary Southern politician who was a bit of a firebrand and much-loved on American radio shows.
Leghorn often seemed to think his utterances were pearls of wisdom, but we’re not sure about that.
4 GINGER FROM CHICKEN RUN
A Rhode Island hen with green beret and plenty attitude, she comes up with no end of plans to get away from the chicken coop.
Alas, every one fails but it never stops her and pal Mac coming up with more.
5 CHICKEN LITTLE
Loosely based on Henny Penny, a European folktale from many centuries back, this feathered star has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Or, rather, parts of the sky keep dropping on his head.
He warns the town that this is happening, but it becomes a joke and makes him a laughing stock – until it happens again.
6 PANCHITO PISTOLES
With a huge full name that has been different every time it’s been mentioned, we’ll just keep it simple and stick with Panchito Pistoles.
As fast-talking as he is trigger-happy, he loves chasing women and having a laugh with his chums.
7 ERNIE THE GIANT CHICKEN
They’ll never take the violence out of this guy, who turns up on a regular basis to have horrendously violent cartoon fights with Peter Griffin in Family Guy.
Often, after throwing each other off tall buildings, out of planes, going up to space in a rocket while still battering lumps out of each other, Peter will go home bruised but victorious.
Only for the camera to reveal that, miraculously, Ernie has just about survived.
8 GYRO GEARLOOSE
A big pal of Donald Duck, this lad made his debut in 1952 and has been voiced by a whole host of voice artists.
Little Helper, a tiny robot with a lightbulb for a head, is often around to assist him, hence the name.
Overseas readers may wonder who we are talking about, as Gyro has other names around the globe.
In Uzbekistan, for instance, he’s called Screw Worked Loose. Yes, seriously. German audiences know him as Daniel Jet Propulsion. While in Brazil he is Professor Sparrow.
9 FEATHERS McGRAW
A bird of many faces, it was thought that he was a chicken before Wallace and Gromit foiled his plans to rob a museum.
Turned out he is actually a penguin, and a sneaky one at that.
It was only when Gromit noticed a Have You Seen This Chicken poster, with the penguin in a chicken disguise.
Having started to run the house how he wanted, it’s fair to say Feathers McGraw was not their favourite person. Sorry, penguin.
10 ALAN-A-DALE
Disney fans will have a special place in their hearts for Alan-a-Dale, the rooster who plays a fine tune on the lute in 1973’s animated version of Robin Hood.
He was depicted by Roger Miller, the man who wrote King Of The Road.
Just bubbling under were…
CHICKEN BOO
Another feathery master of disguise, this Animaniacs star can be just about any human he wants, with the simplest of props.
A blond wig and ballet outfit did the trick in Chicken Booryshnikov, and in The Boo Network he became a network executive who only came up with chicken-related shows.
CLARA CLUCK
Orphan’s Benefit, a 1934 Mickey Mouse classic, saw Clara make a dramatic debut.
She’s an operatic chicken, a bit of a diva, and many of her songs appear to be based on or inspired by Tosca.
It’s thought she lives next door to Daisy Duck and developed a bit of a crush on Donald.
In other episodes, however, she seemed to be living on a farm, one notable show being Egg-xasperating.
Ah, they don’t make shows with great titles like that any more.
Or great chickens like this lot.
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