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 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.

Almanac entry
TOUGHNESS: Average SPEED: Basic

Releases a flock of chickens once his baling wire is broken.

Special: summons zombie chickens when damaged

After publishing the fourth study on Ornithology, and four years of research at the Hadron Collider, Chicken Wrangler Zombie has finally solved the riddle of what came first.

Overview
Chicken Wrangler Zombie takes 9.5 normal damage shots. He releases 13 Zombie Chickens after 3 normal damage shots and loses his arm at 5 shots before dying at 9.5 normal damage shots.

Appearances
Player's House: Piñata Party

Wild West: Days 10, 14, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, and Big Bad Butte

Dark Ages: Piñata Party

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: Chomper, Toadstool

Tips
Although it 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. 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 Melon-pult 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. 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.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * He will not do any additional damage while doing this, though.
 * If a Chicken Wrangler Zombie manages to reach the house 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 shrunked, he can't release its Zombie Chickens.
 * However, explosive instant-kill plants like Cherry Bomb and Jalapeno undoes 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, and Arcade 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.
 * He is the only humanoid zombie which appears in the Wild West that does not wear a hat.
 * 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.
 * This also happens to the Weasel Hoarder.
 * Meaning that the Zombie Chickens will usually end up at the house if the player doesn't kill them quick, which means you should avoid killing him with a lawnmower, especially if he's close to the house.
 * Weasel Hoarder is his counterpart in Frostbite Caves.