00:01Chickens are generally considered to be fairly distant animals.
00:05Sure, they're fluffy and feathery and very social with each other,
00:09but they can be territorial and skittish too, especially around humans.
00:13It also doesn't help that wild animals like hawks and foxes find them tasty,
00:18so it's no surprise that they tend to be on edge most of the time.
00:22This hen, however, was quite a bit different.
00:25She was protectively sitting on what one would assume to be an egg,
00:29but the reality was enough to make any animal lovers squeal in delight.
00:44For the most part, chickens aren't necessarily known for being the cuddliest of critters.
00:49Those raised from chickhood can be affectionate from time to time
00:53if they've been in the presence of humans for a while, but they're not like dogs or cats.
00:58Still, there's a reason why we refer to overly-protected people as mother hens.
01:03Hens are known for using their own bodies to protect their young and keep them warm.
01:09It only makes sense, right?
01:10Chicken eggs need to be incubated, and hatch chicks require lots of warmth to survive.
01:15Still, one particular hen's relationship with a not-so-typical chick
01:19might be evidence that the birds might be more cuddly than we give them credit for.
01:25On a farm in Tuckumbill in South Wales, Australia,
01:29one mother hen has become quite famous for her generous expressions of motherly love,
01:34but she doesn't just limit her maternal care to her eggs.
01:38In addition to sitting on her eggs, this hen is known for caring for another teeny creature, a barn kitten.
01:46Abandoned by its mother, the little furball happily cuddles up in her nest,
01:50and then the kind hen takes him under her wing to protect him, just like she would one of her
01:55own babies.
01:57Like any good mother, the hen seems to have a little bit of a problem when it comes to letting
02:02her kids go.
02:03When this kitten gets curious and tries to wander away from the nest,
02:07his mama puts him right back in his place.
02:10Luckily, it doesn't take too much coholing for the hen to convince the kitten
02:14that being safe and warm was a much better proposition than venturing out into the cold and scary barn.
02:22She certainly is not the only hen hard at work mothering a kitten.
02:26In a small town in England, a cat and a hen happen to give birth at the same time.
02:31Now, they both take turns looking after each other's young.
02:36When a springtime storm hit one small town in Missouri,
02:39this particular hen quickly made her way over to the pair of young kittens in the barn.
02:44She sat down on them and stayed there until the storm was over and she knew they were safe.
02:50Meanwhile, this hen from Florida was so protective that she wouldn't let any of her kittens escape.
02:56She just loved them so much that she needed to spend every waking minute in their company.
03:01Thankfully, it didn't seem like they minded too much.
03:06Even the kitten's real mother was getting in on the act.
03:09This was one serious cuddle party.
03:11It's amazing how much these wonderful animals care for one another in spite of all their differences.
03:18It's so beautiful that a chicken would show so much empathy for another type of animal.
03:23What a strange and wonderful relationship.
03:25What a strange and wonderful animal.
03:25What a strange animal.
03:25What a strange animal.
03:26What a strange animal.
03:27What a strange animal.
03:28What a strange animal.
03:28What a strange animal.
03:29What a strange animal.
