A ‘miracle’ chicken destined for the Christmas dinner table is set to celebrate the festive season in style after surviving a horror lorry crash on the way to the slaughter house. The world’s luckiest bird, dubbed Mrs Senga Culfeathers, is now being cared for at the Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice after being rescued last month.
Charity owner Alexis Fleming told how the bird now rules the roost at the sanctuary in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, where she’s now on a special diet to help her lose weight. The broiler chicken somehow survived after the lorry she was being transported in crashed into a house on the A75 in Crocketford on November 21.
It is understood that thousands of other birds died in the hours following the five-vehicle collision with no sign of any survivors. Alexis, 41, raced to the scene after learning about the crash the following day but was met with a scene of bloody devastation.
But just when all hope was lost, she spotted the plucky chook out the corner of her eye and burst into tears. Alexis said: “She’s a wee miracle chicken. I didn’t hear about the crash until about 11am the next day when someone mentioned it to me because I hadn’t been online.
“It was so close so I had to at least try and see if there were any survivors. When I got there, pretty much everything had been cleaned up but there was still some blood and feathers. I was asking folk if they had seen any chickens that had survived but nobody had seen any despite a pretty extensive search.
“But when I looked round, 5ft away from us, there was Senga just scratching about in the gravel. She wasn’t hiding away and wasn’t hurt at all. I really don’t know how that happened because they rarely get left behind after a crash if they even survive it.
“Imagine being in a massive crash with all the others dying round about you and she’s just like ‘where’s lunch?’. She just wasn’t bothered in the slightest. She was raging when I caught her but I just burst into tears. She was so heavy, she was like a feathery bowling ball.
“The two road workers probably thought I was absolutely mental. I think she’s a super chicken and something has happened because two days after she arrived, we were struck by lightning. She’s just got all the sass and there’s something about her. I think that’s why she survived the crash.”
Senga, who is massively overweight due to being bred for her meat, is now enjoying her newfound freedom at the sanctuary, where she keeps the other animals in check. Alexis explained: “Before the crash, she had probably never been outside. But now she loves going out for a potter about, destroying my plants, picking up whatever crumbs she can find.
“Then she snuggles into her bed and purrs, which they do when they’re content. She reminds me of my gran sitting watching TV and knitting. She has pretty much taken charge of the hospice. She stomps about.
“I’ve got three big dogs who are all terrified of her. She’s like a wee 1950s Glasgow housewife. If the dogs are misbehaving, I threaten to set Senga on them. She takes pot shots at them as they go past and she walks around muttering to herself.
“She’s got a proper personality and attitude. I’ve tried putting a few cockerels in with her for company but she just batters them. She hates being picked up, she’s like ‘just get aff me’ but she’s starting to trust me.
“I’ve got to be able to pick her up and take outside to keep her moving so we can get some weight off her. I don’t want her to be hungry but she definitely can’t be left alone in the sweetie cupboard.
“She’s got a man called George now. But he can’t do anything right. She has to get into the food first. I just think she’s hilarious. They’re pretty much bred to be eating machines but she’s just full of personality and is absolutely bossing it.
“I think we’ll give her diet a break on Christmas Day with a wee buffet and probably whatever the dog’s having too because she just shoves him out the road.”
You can follow Senga's journey on Instagram @mrssengaculfeathers.
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