Why did the chicken cross the road? To break into the Pentagon, apparently. Or is it now the Hentagon – and is America about to have a new peck-retary of defense?
A wandering chicken was caught sneaking around a security area at the Pentagon this week, a local animal welfare organization said.
The hen was found running loose early Monday morning near the US Department of Defense headquarters on the outskirts of Washington DC, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Virginia wrote on social media.
“Apparently, the answer to ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ is to get to the Pentagon,” the group posted.
The chicken was taken into custody by one of the league’s employees.
Chelsea Jones, a spokesperson for the organization, said in an email that she couldn’t reveal the precise location where the bird was spotted.
“We are not allowed to disclose exactly where she was found,” Jones said. “We can only say it was at a security checkpoint.”
It’s also unclear where the chicken came from or how she got to the Pentagon.
The hen – which has brown feathers and a red comb and wattles – is a Rhode Island red. Jones described the bird as “sweet” and “nervous” but said the animal has permitted some people to pet her.
The Animal Welfare League asked people online for name suggestions, prompting various creative responses.
“I mean, chicken found on the military installation … I suggest Colonel Sanderson,” one user wrote.
Another said, “Chick Cheney, after the former Defense Secretary and VP.”
“Hentagon!” someone else wrote. Similarly, another user said, “Henrietta Kissinger?” in reference to Henry Kissinger, a former secretary of state.
“It’s probably not a joke that this chicken will prompt Congress to increase Department of Defense spending by $12 billion,” tweeted Martin Austermuhle, a web and radio producer for WAMU 88.5.
It's probably not a joke that this chicken will prompt Congress to increase Department of Defense spending by $12 billion. https://t.co/W2ndv6p45X
— Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) January 31, 2022
The Animal Welfare League eventually chose Henny Penny for the chicken, one of the names given to the chicken that thinks “the sky is falling” in the folktale.
This one has gained notoriety of her own: Jimmy Fallon performed a song about her on The Tonight Show.
“Are you a normal clucker or an undercover spy,” Fallon sang on his Tuesday episode.
Jones said Henny Penny is being adopted by a staff member who has a small farm in western Virginia.
