chicken trivia
Chickens and Chivalry
The chicken is generally not associated with heroism or great deeds. Infact, if one says ‘chicken’ the first thought that comes to mind ‘scared off easily’. This doesn’t do our feathered friend the honour it deserves.
Any animal will run away from a fight it can’t win, even a lion. Just because we humans don’t, does that make the chicken a ‘chicken’?
I’ll even go one step further and state that roosters are more courageous and knightly than any other animal or man I know. 
How so? First of all the rooster, unlike other flock and pack leaders, will not eat before his hens have eaten. He even calls them to diner. Can’t say that of an alpha wolf. Allright, chickens aren’t predators but then again, a rooster has to eat and procreate too.
Secondly, the rooster calls his flock home or back into the pen when bad weather arrives, when strangers are near or when night falls. He kind of takes care of the flock. And he calls them out too in the morning…
Lastly, the rooster is a proud animal that attacks when his hens are in danger. He won’t run off until his flock is safe. That’s why usually the rooster gets killed (first) in case of a predatory attack on the hen coop. Ever seen a cockfight? These are vicious animals.
Roosters have the virtues of knights, something we should appreciate more than the way a chicken looks when it is running.
They are truly chivalrous.
Chickens that made History
Chickens have played an important role in many big and less renowned historical happenings. Their doings have been translated as omens, their blood was and still is used in rites of all kinds. They are very interesting creatures indeed.
Although they play a role, the bottom line is that in the end, the fowl usually snuffs it…
So that is why today I will share a less macabre chicken chronicle with you.
My wife was born and raised in a small village north of Salzburg in Austria.
Around the year 1520 this village was divided by a stream and the nearest bridge was in Salzburg, way off in those days. Since there was only one church,this formed a big problem on Sundays, for half the people of the village had to take the long way round to get to church.
This problem was addressed to the big man lord-master of the time, the archbishop of Salzburg.
To solve the problem he had two options:
The first was to build another church and install another deacon to run the show.
The second option was to build a bridge.
The poor archbishop was between a rock and a hard place. This was a time in which bridges and churches were valuable real estate. He went for the bridge option and unite his flock in one church (this was probably the cheaper option too).
When the bridge was finished a new quarrel arose about the new name of the united village. The archbishop, the modest man he was, wanted to have the village named after him. So during the opening ceremony of the new bridge he had the announcement made that the first who was to cross the new bridge was the one the village was to be named after.
Now guess what happened: Just before the bishop wanted to cross on his high horse, a runaway chicken cut him off and went first.
Since that day the village is named Henndorf.
