What's with the giant chicken? [Updated]

If you've driven by El Dorado and Highway 3 anytime in the last month, you couldn't possibly have missed it: a chicken as big as King Kong laying eggs on the roof of FoodTown.
I'm never sure whether to laugh or get out of there as quickly as possible. A chicken seems like such a random thing to turn into a giant inflatable balloon, like the horrifying Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. My teen-age son has told me he and his friends want to work at the grocery store next summer because of the chicken, and I've heard it's also a favorite of many toddlers who've wearied of the monotonous view out the car window.
After spotting the charming monstrosity glowing in the dark last night, I finally decided this morning to snap a picture and find out what's with this bird.
Turns out I'm not the only one who's stopped to take pictures, and no one was taken aback by my interest. Store manager Bruce vanArsdol supplied the backstory. The chicken has a name: Happy Hen. That also happens to be the name of the store's egg supplier. It actually says "Happy Hen" right there on the base of the balloon in letters a couple feet high, but you can't read it unless you're at the proper angle. Like on the roof.
VanArsdol says Happy was brought into to promote the store's grand opening last month and eventually will have to go away, departure date unknown. Which is bad news for the customer who complained the store was impossible to find when they had to deflate the balloon for a day so a storm wouldn't blow Happy Hen away.
She will be missed.
An update on Sept. 25: