Talk about period rush. High school student Thomas Ramsey is founder of the Muddy Rabbits Mess, a Civil War reenactment group in Gallman, Mississippi. Ramsey had read that soldiers sometimes brought animals with them into battle—including one Confederate soldier whose rooster traveled with him.—so when Ramsey got his own pet Buff Orpington rooster, it made perfect sense that he'd bring the bird, named Peep, along for some reenactment fun. On the way back from a recent battle in Tennessee, Ramsey and his pal stopped for a bite at a Cracker Barrel in Cullman, Alabama and tied Peep to their truck's bed. But while the boys ate, the bird flew the coop. Ramsey drove around for a couple hours and posted a "missing chicken" message on Cullman Facebook pages but eventually gave up hope and headed back to Mississippi. From Penn Live:
Wherever the rooster wandered to or whatever roads he may have crossed, he'd found his way back to the Cracker Barrel parking lot where [someone] found him. His adventures continued from there.
"He'd changed hands like three times that day," said Ramsey, but it was John Watson, a local farmer who'd been posting advice on finding and catching Peep, who drove the rooster to Birmingham where teen and bird were reunited.
Orpingtons are known as docile, friendly and affectionate birds. Ramsey isn't entirely sure that's true. "I don't know if its affection or him just knowing how to manipulate the system," he said.
But Ramsey felt like Peep was happy to be back with him. "He stood up and kind of jumped when I got him," he said.
image: Facebook, "Missing Buff Orpington Rooster"
