Chicken Adopts Baby Rabbits (VIDEO)

Easter has come early this year for New Zealand's Stagland's Wildlife Reserve. According to Stagland's website, when employee Jayson Davis went to the hen house to do his daily egg check, he was surprised to find that their resident Chinese Silky Bantam chicken was sitting on a litter of baby rabbits.

In this video from TVNZ (via CNN), Davis notes, "At first it was a bit of a fright, but I got quite excited about it."

The Silky has never hatched eggs before, so she's quite protective of her new babies. However, the mother Flemish rabbit still hops in once a day to feed the young. Neither the Silky nor the mother rabbit have a problem with the other one, though the hen house is quite crowded when both mothers are present.

WATCH:

Comments

[peachpage01]

11:27 AM on 01/24/2011

No mention of how the bunnies got in with the chicken. Sweet story of course, but did the narrator really need to clarify that the bunnies didn't come from the chicken. Thanks for clarifying that Dr. Wildlife.

[brooklyncitizen]

01:19 AM on 01/24/2011

Inter-species love .
Chickens are actually smarter than folks give them credit for and they are highly sensitive.

[darth geekboy]

01:03 PM on 01/24/2011

they're tasty as well.

[brooklyncitizen]

01:36 PM on 01/24/2011

I don't think animals are "tasty" at all.

[Gavin Saunders]

07:07 PM on 01/23/2011

There is so much still to be learned from our animal friends.

[Tulka2]

12:14 AM on 01/24/2011

Chickens are much smarter and more complicated than most people want to know.  The happiest vision in the world is that of a chicken leading her new chicks out into the sun.  Used to be a common joy to see it.

[PatA]

12:56 AM on 01/24/2011

and clucking while teaching the chicks how to scratch and find little morsels. i have four hens. Thelma, Louise, Cagney and Lacey and they are a joy!!

[Gavin Saunders]

06:46 AM on 01/24/2011

That is very true and you have reminded me that it was my task to let out our Bantam hen, rooster and their chicks in the mornings. Ducklings are uplifting too.

I wonder what having these great childhood experiences with creatures does to one. I like to think it sows the seeds for greater empathy for others, sometimes maybe even too much?

[brooklyncitizen]

01:28 AM on 01/24/2011

A great book on interspecies love is the Peaceable Kingdom:What Animals Can Teach Us About the Social Origins of Tolerance and Friendship.

The author adopts several animals and observes the interactions and friendships and yes even two "fall in love".He sums up how to create successful friendships based on these observations.Very charming and revealing.

[linton]

03:58 PM on 01/23/2011

Republicans need to pick up this kind of behaviour.

[Nick2]

02:47 PM on 01/23/2011

Fun.

[eric14]

01:35 PM on 01/23/2011

Animals transcend morality.

[darth geekboy]

01:06 PM on 01/24/2011

more like.....animals lack the concept of morality, for they never evolved the ability to do so.

[eric14]

01:23 PM on 01/24/2011

Good point. Could be right. Or it could be that the need for morality - the rise of sentience - is the Fall.

[Queen Cassandra]

02:35 AM on 01/23/2011

Lovely......

[jonathonz]

01:43 AM on 01/23/2011

Too cute...here's a video of a baby duck feeding some koi!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPxDw7ajfGE

[Gin1234]

01:08 AM on 01/23/2011

I wonder how it feels to have the chicken mother's giant claws step on they little heads. 

[PatA]

12:58 AM on 01/24/2011

obviously you don't know chickens.

[Catfish1968]

12:51 AM on 01/23/2011

I heard that Silkies are a broody type of chicken -this is cool!

[Bartolo27]

12:09 AM on 01/23/2011

Great. We tried to warn you. Do you see what happens when you allow gay people to marry? Now Chickens and rabbits are raising families and living together. Where will it all end?

[lodger16x]

12:16 AM on 01/23/2011

Is it evolution or intelligent design? 
My head is like, exploding, dudes.

[Imzadi]

07:40 AM on 01/23/2011

LOL _ Great satire.

[corsair1917]

09:40 PM on 01/22/2011

I love the line when the reporter says that her maternal instincts have kicked in "despite the fact that these four baby rabbit are not hers!!!"

No, really???

[Boobuzuela]

09:40 PM on 01/22/2011

This is about the fourty-ninth interspecies mothering article we've seen on Huffpo.

Call me when it's a lion and a lamb, and not before then!

[planetjeffy]

10:10 PM on 01/22/2011

or Republican and Democrat

[LateBoomer2]

03:25 AM on 01/23/2011

Carville and Matalin?

[bernusdellus]

10:13 PM on 01/22/2011

I heard that George Bush was actually raised by humans! How amazing is that???

:p

[ExcellentObservation]

10:39 PM on 01/22/2011

I'm not sure ;) Have you ever seen brbraboosh? I believe she's a cyborg or some such, I'm sure I saw her in the movie Total Recall.

[Attilatheblond]

12:47 AM on 01/23/2011

Don't believe everything you hear ;^)

[SweetJudith]

09:32 PM on 01/22/2011

Absolutely adorable.. Bless their precious hearts...

[marred]

09:29 PM on 01/22/2011

Damn I hate news stories that don't tell you why the story exists! Why?