Say What You Will, But 1,000 Chickens For $0.96 Is A Great Deal

A situation that could have ended as a feathery nightmare instead has a warm and fuzzy ending. The manager of a bed and breakfast in Hamilton, New Zealand, was shocked this week when it turned out his winning bid for "a couple" of chickens in an online auction was in fact for 1,000 chickens, which had been listed for "urgent sale" due to the closure of the free-range egg farm where they lived. The winning bid was the equivalent of $0.96.

According to Insider, Steve Morrow, the unlucky auction winner, said he had misread the ad and assumed he could bid on the lot and just select the amount of hens he wanted from it. He already had 10 chickens and was only seeking one or two additional hens to provide more eggs for the guests of his bed and breakfast.

This is where things diverged from potential disaster. Morrow posted to a Facebook message board on Monday seeking help with his excess cluckery, and within hours, thousands of people replied offering to help re-home the chickens. A New Zealand animal refuge even worked with Morrow to coordinate the distribution of the birds to their new locations, and by the end of the day, all 1,000 had been taken care of.

Now that the animals are being evaluated by vets and preparing to head to their new homes, there's only one issue that remains: Morrow has gained the unfortunate nickname "the chicken man."