An attempt at a new "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road" joke

Unbeknownst to many historians, Henry David Thoreau propounded for many years a theory that the chicken, rather than the dog, was mankind’s true best friend. Thoreau had a pet chicken that for years was quite loyal to him, and would help fix dinner, perform chores, and would loudly cluck to drive away robbers. Thoreau wrote many pamphlets arguing his odd theory, which were predictably, for the most part, ignored. His pet chicken was very dear to him, but one day things began to change. The chicken seemed to begin to resent Thoreau, and little by little began to grow estranged from him. It finally came to this, that the chicken actually helped some robbers break into Thoreau’s house. Thoreau, heartbroken, had no choice but to give him away—but the question remains to this day: “Why did the chicken cross Thoreau?”