This woman realising her chickens are in a lesbian relationship is the ultimate quarantine love story
Lovebirds Domino (left) and Michelle. (Twitter/Amandycat)
Two hens brought together in quarantine have fallen in love, and the story of how their owner realised she had lesbian chickens will melt your heart.
Nothing about the match between the lovebirds was planned.
In a viral Twitter thread, Amanda Brunton shared how she realised her two chickens were in a lesbian relationship.
The first chicken, Domino, was not actually Amanda’s hen – she was a runaway, lost in the field’s near Amanda’s house.
Just over a year ago, our neighbours asked me if I was missing a chicken, because one had been spotted on the meadow outside our house (I was not missing a hen). About 6 weeks later someone caught the hen and brought her to me, assuming she was mine (she was not). pic.twitter.com/Y6F4bgz0xN
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
Because they knew she kept hens, Amanda’s neighbours brought Domino to her – but Domino wasn’t Amanda’s.
After six weeks living in Amanda’s bathroom while she tried to find Domino’s owners, Amanda realised that she was going to be keeping the little chicken.
She was very thin and weak so I brought her indoors and set about finding her owner. She clearly loved being around people and we assumed she was a pet. We advertised everywhere but no one claimed her. She lived in our bathroom for six weeks while we tried to find her owner. pic.twitter.com/OOcOzIDGSh
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
But because Domino was so small, Amanda decided to get a bigger companion for her before letting her in with the rest of the flock.
The big grey bird is a bantam Brahma – full size brahmas are HUGE. They are gentle giants though, and we figured that a big bird would defend Domino, since she’s a dinky little bantam about half the size of my existing flock birds.
My friend named her Michelle Obrahma.— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
Introducing Michelle Obrahma: a big grey hen who was supposed to act as Domino’s protector.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Domino wasn’t delighted with losing her heated towel rail privileges or sharing her new palace with a stranger, but the two hens quickly became best buds. A few weeks later and with neither bird sick, they were ready to start being introduced to my other girls.
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
Turns out, Michelle is afraid of her own shadow and gets picked on by the other chickens.
Domino, on the other hand, is small but extremely assertive, and had to be very carefully introduced to the other chickens because she kept attacking them.
Finally, Domino had asserted herself enough and was at the top of the pecking order.
To start, we moved the quarantine coop close to the other birds so they could see each other, but not touch before letting them spend time together. This is Cleo, one of my cream legbars. Domino decided now was the time to ASSERT DOMINANCE and immediately picked a fight with her. pic.twitter.com/LK77UXVD99
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
But Amanda noticed something odd – when Michelle failed to get any of the treats she brought, Domino would collect extra and take them back to Michelle.
Meanwhile Michelle, the freaking ENORMOUS bird we brought in to ‘protect’ the sweet little bantam we adopted (ha!) was busy being frightened by wild sparrows, her own shadow, and was being picked on by all the other birds. pic.twitter.com/NnehUkxBlo
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
The two hens would have romantic dinners together away from the other chickens, and began sharing dust baths together.
Domino now HUSTLES RIGHT IN THERE if the other birds are giving her big dumb friend any trouble. They go to sleep at night separate to the other chickens, all snuggled up together, usually with one tucked under the other’s wing.
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
In the hen house, Domino and Michelle didn’t take a perch each like all the other chickens.
The other thing I have noticed is that if I bring in any treats and Michelle is too timid to get a look in, Domino goes and grabs some, runs over to Michelle and FEEDS IT TO HER. They then both cluck around together happily with their little romantic dinner away from the others.
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
Instead, the lesbian chickens slept on the same perch together, with one snuggled up under the others wing.
Until this point, Amanda had blithely been putting their behaviour down to them being good friends.
But when she spoke to her chicken breeder and told him about the things Domino did for Michelle – bringing her treats and extra food, and staying with her so they could eat together – the breeder gently set her straight.
Domino’s behaviour was that of a rooster wooing a hen, she said – and Amanda realised that, unbeknownst to her, she’d had a lesbian chicken couple in her coop this whole time.
I mentioned this to the breeder that I bought Michelle from recently, and she says she’s only ever seen this behaviour as something roosters do for their favourite hen. So basically, I’ve had adorable little chicken-y lesbians in my back garden the whole time and I DIDN’T REALISE pic.twitter.com/OuViCK4m5q
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
Finishing off the clucking beautiful love story of her lesbian chickens, Amanda added a postscript to the Twitter thread where she shared the story.
Postscript, since everyone loves Domino and Michelle:
Michelle has laid two, TWO eggs in the year we have had her. Laying eggs is over-rated.Domino lays green (!) eggs like a feathery little machine gun and then goes broody and turns into a small angry dinosaur. pic.twitter.com/lP9xUsy4ez
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
While Michelle has only laid two eggs in the entire year Amanda has had her, Domino is a regular layer – but her eggs are green.
After all, brown eggs are just so heteronormative.
This is Domino. She’s a hen we rescued. She wants to lay an egg, but has to keep stopping in order to SCREAM AT THE WIND every time there’s a big gust. Life as a chicken is very complicated sometimes. pic.twitter.com/njKIOvwaJ0
— Amanda Brunton (@Amandycat) February 25, 2020
