Chicken Wrangler Zombie


 * For the form in Plants vs. Zombies: All Stars, see Chicken Wrangler Zombie (PvZ: AS).

Chicken Wrangler Zombie is the 14th zombie that appears in the Wild West. When damaged enough, he releases a flock of Zombie Chickens into the lane he is on and ones adjacent to him. Otherwise, he is like a Basic Zombie.

Description
The Chicken Wrangler Zombie has a red-colored chicken-like hairstyle that extends up to its nape. For his outfit, the Chicken Wrangler Zombie has a tattered orange handkerchief tied on to his neck. Next, he wears gloves on both hands with the left one being torn, exposing the index finger. He straps on a bailing wire around his body filled with Zombie Chickens. For his attire, he wears a green colored tattered shirt and blue colored jumpers with mud and stains on his left and right legs and on his groin. The jumper is also tattered, exposing the bone on his right portion of him. Finally, he wears a pair of brown-colored boots.

The Chicken Wrangler Zombie in Food Fight Parties wears a turkey helmet and contains Zombie Turkeys instead strapped on to his bailing wires.

Overview
Chicken Wrangler Zombie takes 11.75 normal damage shots. He releases 13 Zombie Chickens after absorbing 4.75 normal damage shots and loses his arm at 6 shots before dying at 11.75 normal damage shots.

Plants vs. Zombies 2
Player's House: Piñata Party

Wild West: Days 10, 14, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, Big Bad Butte, and Piñata Party

Dark Ages: Piñata Party

Jurassic Marsh: "Rescue the Gold Bloom" Epic Quest - Step 10

Modern Day: Days 12, 32, and Highway to the Danger Room (portal only)

Weaknesses

 * Stunning the zombie: Iceberg Lettuce, Kernel-pult, Chili Bean (gas), Stunion
 * Devour the zombie whole without releasing his chickens: Chomper, Toadstool

Tips
Although he is not a very tough zombie, he is dangerous once he absorbs three normal damage shots. This will cause him to release Zombie Chickens on his lane and the lanes adjacent to him. When he releases his Zombie Chickens, use a column of Lightning Reeds to zap every Zombie Chicken. Threepeaters are also a good idea, since their peas can destroy Zombie Chickens in three lanes. To avoid letting him release Zombie Chickens, use a Cherry Bomb below the lane to kill him instantly. Using a Coconut Cannon can also help, although there is a chance he will still release his chickens.

Another good choice is to let any zombie (with the exception of the Pianist Zombie) eat a Chili Bean, so that it can faint and pass gas to stun the Chicken Wrangler Zombie. As the Chicken Wrangler Zombie releases the chickens in the lanes adjacent to him, do not forget to guard those lanes, in case the Chicken Wrangler comes early in a level. You could also use Spikeweeds and Spikerocks to instantly kill the Zombie Chickens. Bonk Choys are also good against chickens due to their rapid attack. Also, using Plant Food on a Magnifying Grass will instantly kill them, but it will be a waste of Plant Food.

Laser Beans and Fume-shrooms can kill all Zombie Chickens within range with every shot, making them useful when placed behind defensive plants. Planting a Guacodile at the end of a lane with incoming Zombie Chickens is a good idea as well as the rushing attack of the Guacodile will kill all Zombie Chickens in the lane.

A very smart choice is to use an Iceberg Lettuce, Kernel-pult's Plant Food upgrade, or Stunion to stun him. Once he is stunned, he cannot release his Zombie Chickens, even if he is killed. A Level 5+ Stunion is especially effective as the poison will kill him without releasing his chickens. Using plants like the Coconut Cannon is a good choice, along with these two plants to become a massive combo.

In Big Bad Butte, if there are any Chicken Wrangler Zombies, try to plant at least two Lightning Reeds before you plant any other offensive plants, one on the second and one on the fourth row. They deal with Chicken Zombies in three lanes.

Chompers and Toadstools are also inevitably a good counter against this zombie, as they can swallow the zombie without the zombie releasing Zombie Chickens. However, this strategy can only be used when there are no other plants attacking the zombie as when this happens, the Chicken Wrangler Zombie will release Zombie Chickens once he absorbs three normal shots. It shall be noted that even though Chompers or Toadstools can kill the Zombie Chickens without having to swallow them, they need a long time to kill another Zombie Chicken, usually ended up being eaten by the Zombie Chickens before all of them in front of the Chompers or Toadstools are eliminated.

The Shrinking Violet works well against groups of Chicken Wranglers, as a shrunken Chicken Wrangler will not release any chickens when damaged enough.

Using any lobbed-shot plants (except Pepper-pult, Melon-pult, Dusk Lobber and Winter Melon) is not recommended against the Chicken Wrangler Zombie after he releases his flock because their attack speed is slow and the Zombie Chickens are fast, which may cause the projectiles to miss the chickens. Also, do not use any Citrons or Homing Thistles as they can only kill one at a time. Another thing is, in Big Bad Butte, sometimes he is covered by a Wild West Gargantuar, therefore, making it a much harder time passing levels. When a Chicken Wrangler appears in Big Bad Butte, bring a Lightning Reed in case this happens, as Chicken Wranglers can be just as dangerous as Gargantuars in certain situations.

Using Hypno-shroom is also a good idea, because the Chicken Wrangler Zombie will deploy the Zombie Chickens to fight for you as a distraction, especially the Gargantuar, because its smashing rate is very low and it can only smash a Zombie Chicken per smash.

Be careful that Chicken Wrangler Zombies can release their Zombie Chickens, even off the game's screen, allowing groups of them to destroy defenses with ease. It is also bad for any zombie to trigger a lawn mower with Chicken Wranglers in sight as, like Weasel Hoarders, they will release their chickens allowing them to reach your house. Also, beware that this zombie, unlike Pirate Captain Zombie or Weasel Hoarder, can immediately release their chickens when they encounter a plant. Therefore, avoid placing a Chili Bean, Sun Bean, Shadow-shroom, or any hard-shell plants near it as they will only compound your problems.

Grimrose makes a very effective counter to Chicken Wrangler Zombies. This is because when it drags it down, it does not count as taking any damage, so the Zombie Chickens are not released. This is especially helpful when they are boosted as they can take out multiple Chicken Wranglers at once. Although, Grimrose has a relatively long recharge and doesn't function well against groups, so be cautious when using this strategy.

Trivia

 * Weasel Hoarder can be considered as his counterpart in Frostbite Caves.
 * In the 1.7 update for the iPhone and iPod Touch, he is simply called "Chicken Wrangler," but in the Almanac entry, he is still referred to as "Chicken Wrangler Zombie."
 * Chicken Wrangler Zombie holds his hands like chicken wings and flaps them while jumping (although he stops jumping and instead walks after releasing his Zombie Chickens), walking and when he dies.
 * While eating, Chicken Wrangler Zombie eats just as his namesake and kicks the plants he eats at the same time. However, he will not do any additional damage while doing this.
 * If a Chicken Wrangler Zombie manages to reach the house and eat the player's brains with his bailing wire intact, his bailing wire and Zombie Chickens will disappear.
 * Chicken Wrangler Zombie is one of the few zombies to have a known education. He studied Ornithology, or the field of birds and their life cycle.
 * The only other zombies with a known education are Backup Dancer, Dr. Zomboss, Buckethead Mummy, and Jester Zombie.
 * If he is frozen, stunned, or shrunken, he can't release his Zombie Chickens.
 * However, explosive instant-kill plants like Cherry Bomb and Jalapeno undo the freezing effect thus releasing the chickens.
 * In his description, it says he finally found out what came first. It is referring to the rhetorical question "What came first, the chicken or the egg?".
 * Chicken Wrangler Zombie, Cowboy Zombie, Adventurer Zombie, their three variants, Lost Pilot Zombie, Excavator Zombie, Parasol Zombie, Arcade Zombie, and All-Star Zombie are the only zombies in the game that wear gloves.
 * He will immediately release his chickens if he encounters a plant.
 * His Frostbite Caves counterpart does not do this.
 * Like Pirate Captain Zombie, Chicken Wrangler Zombies can use their abilities even off-screen. This happens only when the player has damaged it enough.
 * He is the only humanoid zombie which appears in the Wild West that does not wear headwear items, like cones or buckets.
 * If a Chicken Wrangler Zombie with his bailing wire still intact encounters Infi-nut's force field, the bailing wire will disappear without releasing Zombie Chickens. Once the Force Field disappears, the bailing wire along with his Zombie Chickens will reappear.
 * When he loses his left arm, his bone is not shown like the other zombies.
 * This trait is shared with Poncho Zombie and Excavator Zombie.
 * If Chicken Wrangler Zombie is hypnotized after the bailing wire is broken, he will still release hypnotized Zombie Chickens.
 * He is the only zombie in Plants vs. Zombies 2 so far that has red hair.
 * However, Hunter Zombie has a red beard.
 * In Food Fight Parties, Chicken Wrangler Zombie has a Turkey Wrangler costume and releases Zombie Turkeys instead of Zombie Chickens.
 * Even if he is going backwards under the effects of Sweet Potato, he still releases his chickens in the forward direction.
 * If killed by a lawn mower, he will still release his chickens. Thus, the Zombie Chickens will usually end up at the house if the player doesn't kill them quickly, which means the player should avoid killing him with a lawnmower, especially if he's close to the house.
 * This also happens to the Weasel Hoarder.
 * In the 6.1 version of the game, while on the seed selection screen, his bailing wire and chickens will periodically disappear and reappear. This has been rectified in the 6.2 update.
 * He, Pirate Captain Zombie, and Weasel Hoarder are the only zombies that releases zombie animals.