Cock-A-Doodle Derring-Do

Mr. Chicken, who had artificial legs attached after a brush with death last winter, went to his maker defending his hens to the end. His rescuer, Michigan veterinarian Tim England, said the rooster was mauled to death, probably by a raccoon, as he tried to protect the chickens that shared his pen. “Something chewed him up real good,” England said Friday. “The other chickens were OK, though. He was very protective of them.” Mr. Chicken’s plastic legs fit snugly over the stumps, with squarish “feet” that curved up at the toe like skis. And apparently, this rooster wasn’t a chicken.