A realistic farm rooster tattoo shows your rural background.
The rooster is a symbol for many different things across cultures, countries and history. Depending on what you want to express, there are many unique rooster tattoo ideas from which to choose. The rooster can represent the rising sun, impending danger, cockiness, fertility and much more, depending on how it is depicted. Whether to represent your interests, love of nature or cultural background, a rooster tattoo is a great way to express your individuality.
Traditional
A traditional, realistic rooster tattoo can represent many things, such as farm life, stubbornness or an appreciation of the bird itself. A crowing rooster symbolizes impending danger or the start of the day. The rooster's crow also has biblical significance associated with Saint Peter, as this sound signaled that he had betrayed Jesus Christ.
Gamecock
Throughout history, roosters have been put in pits to fight in the sport of cockfighting. Exotic and colorful gamecocks with feathers ruffled and spurs displayed makes a great tattoo that represents tenacity, combat or interest in the sport. While illegal in the United States, cockfighting was historically a sport of kings, noblemen and gamblers.
Cartoon
A cartoon rooster tattoo can show your lighthearted or childlike side, as the character appears in many different animated forms. Foghorn Leghorn, the stuttering, chubby white and brown rooster, was a common character in the "Looney Tunes." A Foghorn Leghorn tattoo can represent your nostalgia or love for the character or cartoons in general.
Rooster Cogburn
For an unconventional rooster tattoo, you could get one depicting Rooster Cogburn, the liquor-swilling, foul-mouthed and brave marshal from "True Grit," a novel by Charles Portis that has spawned three motion pictures. Rooster Cogburn wears an eye patch and is known both for his outspokenness and his valor. Academy Award-winning actors John Wayne and Jeff Bridges have portrayed him on screen.
Zodiac
Another rooster tattoo idea is the rooster in relation to its year in the Chinese zodiac calendar. The years of the rooster are 1921, 1933 and years preceding and following them in increments of 12. If you were born in the year of the rooster, a symbolic eastern design with Chinese characters denoting the year or the zodiac rooster symbol make a great tattoo.
