A rooster is on the lam in Greensboro.

Some Greensboro residents who thought they might sleep in late on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend got an unpleasant surprise – a rooster crowing at the break of dawn hours before their alarm clocks were set to go off.

The red rowdy rabble-rouser has been making the rounds in Green Valley and the surrounding neighborhoods in Greensboro and, though many have heard and spotted the rooster over the past week, no one has been able to round up the free feisty feathered fowl.

The antics of the rooster – and what fate it should suffer if apprehended – have been the subject of much discussion on Nextdoor.com – a social media website that lets people stay informed about what’s going on in their neighborhood and the surrounding areas.

The first recorded rooster spotting was by Norma McDaniel on Hobbs Road, who wrote last week, “There is a Rooster lost in my neighborhood.  He has been in my yard and neighbor’s for the last two days.  You can hear his cock-a-doodle-doo for blocks.  Anyone missing a rooster please let me know.”

Others in the Green Valley area posted soon after that, such as one woman who wrote, “I thought I was going crazy!!! I knew I heard a ROOSTER!!!”

Some residents felt bad for the out of place animal and posted expressions of sympathy – like, “Poor rooster” with a sad face emoji – while others, perhaps those who’ve had their morning rest disturbed, were much less sympathetic.  One Westerwood man, for instance, posted, “I have oil and a deep fryer.  Sounds like a match made in heaven!” to which a Forest Valley resident responded, “Roo meat is not known to be tender like a hen.”

That same Forest Valley woman also expressed concern for the rooster “Poor guy, surely someone knows who is responsible for him and find him a proper home in the country, where he can do his job!”

As of Monday, Jan. 21, the rooster was still on the loose.  On the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. day, the cocky bird was last seen where Albemarle Drive meets Swannanoa Drive, near the intersection of Hobbs Road and Holden Road.

There were numerous theories online about the rooster’s origin, including one suggestion that, since it showed up in the middle of Greensboro apparently out of nowhere, it may have escaped from a cockfighting ring.  Others believe it to be a country rooster who decided to find out if city living was the life for him.

The City of Greensboro’s “Chicken Ordinance” does allow homeowners to keep chickens but the ordinance excludes roosters.

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