Cockerel named Alice Cooper plays guitar at charity shop

A rock 'n' roll rooster named Alice Cooper plays guitar exclusively at the charity shop his owner works at and gives customers a show every time they step in the store. In fact Alice Cooper is so talented at playing the guitar, customers come into the shop just to see him perform. Alice Cooper the cockerel is owned by Wendy Jarvis, manager of Second Chance charity shop in West End, near Southampton, Hampshire. The shop is partnered with Second Chance Animal Rescue centre in Southampton, and all proceeds go directly to the rescue centre to help animals in need of care.



Ms Jarvis, 54, took Alice Cooper, who is almost one, in and now shares her home with him. Alice Cooper goes to work with her in the car and spends the day at the shop entertaining customers by rocking out on the guitar. He is able to play the instrument when it is laid down on the floor and uses his beak to strum strings and his feet to play solos. Ms Jarvis says the music Alice Cooper plays depends on his moods - when he is excited, his music is noticeably more happy and bouncy, and when he isn't his music is less frantic. Ms Jarvis, from Southampton, said: "Alice Cooper really is a talented chicken, I've never heard of any bird playing a guitar before.





"We had an email from a woman who thought she had a hen, but it turned out to be a cockerel. I couldn't get a home for him and so I took him in. I just haven't been able to let him go since, he lives at my house and comes to work with me. It's like he leads the life of a human, three or four days a week he'll come to the shop with me in the car and spend the day there. One afternoon I said to a colleague 'I think I'm going to try and teach him how to play the guitar' and so I got the guitar out and laid it down in front of him. He got the hang of it straight away, I was amazed how easily he picked it up. I think he responds to the sounds of the strings.


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"They say chickens aren't very clever - but I'd have to disagree. Alice Cooper loves to play the guitar, his doesn't need any encouragement to play and entertains everyone in the shop. He's so popular I could start charging customers - they come in just to watch him perform and take pictures of him. He's always playing, too, I think he's played enough to have released an album." Vet James Hood, from Pilgrims Veterinary Practice in Fordingbridge, said: "I have never come across a chicken who is able to play any form of musical instrument, but Alice Cooper is a special and talented chicken. We often underestimate what animals are capable of, and yet even now I find myself frequently surprised by animals like Alice Cooper, and what they can do."