A friendly rooster of unknown origin made a hobby out of hanging around the only grocery store in a small east Texas town and now is a local celebrity and mascot.
If anyone in Overton, TX, population 2,703 as of 2022, knows where the colorful bird came from, they haven’t made that information public. All anyone knows is that Overton Brookshire’s parking lot became the rooster’s go-to hangout spot about a month ago, according to KLTV.
“He just appeared out of nowhere … and we all just kind of take care of him,” Stacy Ham, a local chicken farmer, said in an interview with KLTV. “He is the community chicken.”
Locals call him Ol’ Red, Brooks, Mustang and Walker, but to her, he’s Big Tex. Ham told KLTV she always gives him a handful of chicken feed from her own farm when she comes to the store.
On his dedicated Facebook page, the rooster can be seen hanging out between the shopping carts, strutting up and down the sidewalk, sitting on the benches outside, or inspecting the cars in the parking lot.
When one poster on the Overton, TX Citizens Forum Facebook page reported in early January that the rooster tried to attack her husband outside the store, people were quick to defend Ol’ Red’s character.
“Maybe the rooster was having a bad day he is there everyday first time I heard that he attacked someone,” replied one poster.
“Yall leave mustang alone,” wrote another. “We all have bad days including animals.”
“Serious question: was your husband kicking at the rooster or being mean to him in any way?” asked another commenter.
On posts from Jan 21, locals commenting on the page expressed concern about Ol’ Red over the last week, as temperatures in Overton have dipped into the 30s and 40s throughout January.
Ol’ Red often crosses the road— no, really —around sundown. There is no word on where the wandering rooster goes at night to roost, but he usually returns before Brookshire’s opens its doors at 7 a.m., according to his fan Facebook page.
As cute and sociable as Ol’ Red is, it’s best not to get in his personal space.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends avoiding direct contact with wild poultry to protect against bird flu. Even birds that appear healthy can carry the virus, according to the CDC. Precautions like hand-washing are recommended as well.
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June 13, 2022 1:11 PM
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM.