Murfreesboro, TN - This is a pretty special time of the year. I know, we all hear that, but there’s a feral rooster roaming around Sunshine Nutrition Center on South Church Street. In fact, he’s been the cock of the walk for almost a year.

He’s very sociable. This guy walks right up and greets you. His comb is in great shape, and if you didn’t know—the comb indicates the fowl's health and maturity.

Folks have taken a liking to this feathered friend. Some go “out of their way” to visit him, rub his head, and yes—give him some feed.

He’s so “people friendly”, even stands at Sunshine Nutrition’s glass door and looks-in, trying to coax someone to “love on him”. It usually works too.

Although, this chick loves people, he’s obviously has a strong sense of survival. When you look-up “chicken predators”, animals like raccoons and opossums are at the top of the list. Then you’ll find dogs at number three. Well, this rooster lives in the wild, next to the Murfree Spring wetlands. There’s a strong population of all three of those predators, and yet the cock is still around almost a year later.

By the way, feral chickens are not rare to the US. For those whose travels have taken them to Key West, these birds roam the island and pose for pictures. They also roam the Hollywood freeway in LA. In South Georgia, a small community known as Fitzgerald is home to around 4,000 fowl-friends. It’s people population is about double that.

So the next time you’re around 621 S. Church Street, drop-in to say hi to the resident chicken. He’d love to make your acquaintance.