This Chicken Can Play 'America The Beautiful' Better Than Most Kids Forced to Take Piano Lessons

Watch Jokgu the chicken play 'America The Beautiful' on the piano like an avian Billy Joel.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Jokgu the chicken is not like most chickens, and by that we mean she's not wrapped in packaging that says Perdue on it in your freezer. Also she can play the piano (kind of, we mean the fucking keys are lighting up, but just ignore that) which is probably how she avoids the fate that has befallen so many of her brothers and sisters.

For those of you who want background on this chicken (and who doesn't?) Jokgu is a 19-month-old from Germantown, Maryland who's grown up in a coop packed with musical instruments. She separates herself from the pack/flock/whatever groups of chickens are called by actually being able to play a song instead of just plucking the instruments randomly. This is what happens when you support the arts.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

The coop's co-owner, Shannon Myers, revealed to The Huffington Post that, like most prodigies, Jokgu was a quick study. "It took about 2 weeks to get her to this level through clicker training," Myers said in an email. "Just about 10 minutes to get her to peck the keys initially."

For those of you who grew up without a chicken in your living room, clicker training gives positive reinforcement for doing things correctly. The animal associates the click with good behavior, and then you give them a treat as a reward. Maybe you've done it with your dog, or your son, or something.

In addition to explaining how she trained the chicken, Myers also told The HuffPo why they chose to teach it 'America The Beautiful.' "My chicken coop partner’s family, of Asian heritage, immigrated here,” she said. “We wanted Jokgu to play something that I thought at the heart is so true ― that America is Beautiful. What better ambassador than a Chinese breed chicken with a Korean name playing an American anthem?”

We're not 100 percent sure what that means.

While Jokgu has proven that she has what it takes to make it as a solo artist, she also shows versatility by teaming up with a band called the Flockstars (Oh, I guess they are called a flock):

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Anyway, whether she opts to stay in her band or go at it alone, we see nothing but a bright future in the music industry for Jokgu. Here's hoping that, like most people, she never crosses paths with Azealia Banks:

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Best of luck with that.

Latest in Life