Man Tries To Rescue A Homeless Hen, Wins 1,000 Chickens For $1 By Mistake

New Zealand Man Rescues 1,000 Chickens With The Help Of The Internet

Most of us skip over the fine print of what we’re buying online.

But this man’s unexpected bulk purchase teaches us the value of scrutinising our Taobao hauls carefully, before checking out.

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A kind-hearted gentleman named Mr Steve Marrow learnt this the hard way when he attempted to rescue a single bird, but ended up with an entire flock of 1,000 chickens.

Here’s what the New Zealander had to say on Sunday (3 Nov) in a truly hilarious Facebook post.

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Man accidentally buys 1,000 chickens for $1

Mr Steve Morrow – who hails from Hamilton, New Zealand – chanced upon an urgent listing online. An egg farm was facing impending closure, and the owners sought to rehome their chickens urgently.

He decided to rescue a homeless battery hen, intending to give her a new home.

Can 999 of my girlfriends crash your place too?
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Steve quickly placed a bid worth NZ$1 (S$0.86), hoping to secure the hen. Only when he was informed he’d won did he realise the scale of his miscalculation.

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He had bought 1 x 1,000-bird flock from the farm, instead of just 1 chicken. In Morrow’s own words,

I bid thinking one. When the guy rung he said I won all 1000?! So help me.

Egg farm’s closure left 1,000 chickens homeless

Turns out, the egg farm in Massey, West Auckland – which reared thousands of free-range chickens – remained sincere about their offer.

As the owners had to vacate its site urgently by Monday (4 Nov), they needed to rehome 1,000 hens ASAP.

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To quote the listing directly,

For urgent sale is one 1000 – bird mixed age flock of Brown Shavers and Highlines.

Mr Morrow had submitted his $1 bid, assuming that the winning bidder could select however many birds he desired.

Now, instead of helping 1 homeless hen, he was tasked with the insane logistical nightmare that was saving 1,000 Brown Shaver and Hyline chickens.

Netizens flock to help save these “special ladies”

As expected, the post quickly went viral on social media. Countless netizens flocked from all over the country to help him save the remaining hens.

Thankfully, about 700 chickens have already been re-homed.

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Morrow even stepped in to personally interview potential owners to make sure that all the hens are going to loving new homes.

Steve quipped humourously to Stuff.Co,

I won’t let the birds down. Even if I had to drive up to Auckland and feed them myself.

Calling them his “special ladies”, Steve’s mission is to ensure that none of his hens will be put down.

If you reside in New Zealand and wish to adopt a homeless hen, head over to Animal Sanctuary to fill in this application form.

1,000 eggs worth of mislaid expectations

We’re glad that everything worked out for Mr Morrow and his 1,000-strong flock of chickens.

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Mislaid expectations are tricky to navigate, especially when we don’t have room in our houses to store a thousand eggs per day.

Let’s all remember to double check our Carousell or Taobao orders carefully, even as this year’s 11.11 sale reaches a fever pitch in a few days.

Featured image adapted from ThisNZLife and Tom McCulloch.