Rooster climbed the apple tree during a hailstorm last June
I was out in my backyard in Topeka checking on the girls when a rogue hailstone spooked my old rooster right up into the lowest branch of my apple tree. Had to climb up there myself with a ladder to grab him before he spooked again and broke both our necks, never seen a chicken so stubborn about being rescued.
...and honestly, the timing of it all is what gets me. Hailstorms in June are weird enough for Kansas, but a rooster choosing that exact moment to go full acrobat? That's the kind of stubborn that makes you wonder if birds have some kind of sixth sense about weather. I mean, maybe he was trying to get above the hail, like he thought the branches would shield him better than the ground. It's not the smartest plan, but I've seen dumber from my own flock when a storm rolls in. They'll hide under the coop when the sun's out but the second things get real, they pick the worst spots to ride it out.