Meet Cuckoo, the most famous chicken in SA at the moment

Cuckoo has been making headlines recently after being rescued from drowning in Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal. Cuckoo, named by veterinarian surgeon Claire Norton, has found a new home at the vet’s room.

According to South Coast Fever’s Facebook page, Cuckoo was found by police diver Marc Wiid from Port Shepstone SAPS Search and Rescue unit.

“Wiid was doing his beach patrol along the Port Shepstone beachfront when he noticed something strange in the shallow water. He went to investigate and found a drenched and shivering white hen lying in the shallow water, barely breathing,” reads the post.

Cuckoo is doing well now and apparently follows her lifesaver around in the surgery.

Though Cuckoo’s story is a positive one, it’s also bad news for someone in the province. The hen was found along with white candles that the waves had washed onto the beach. This can mean only one thing, say Facebook users: Cuckoo was sacrificed in a ritual and her escape means someone’s bad luck continues to live on.

“Yabona nje I serious lento (you see, this is serious), you think all your bad luck has been washed away in the sea kanti isalana into e VET ay (only to find that it is at the vet). That person had ibhadi elinenkani (that person’s bad luck is stubborn).

The chicken has divided Facebook users, with some rejoicing that it escaped a “ruthless” death, while some argue for respect towards other people’s rituals.

“Chickens get thrown into the sea during religious ritual. Happy to know this one survived,” wrote one user, who sparked a debate about the chicken’s rights, despite that she was not a vegetarian herself.

Another criticised her for having no respect towards people’s culture.

“At the heart of all this is having no respect for people’s culture and rituals. It was their chicken so they can do with it whatever they wish. What looks like abuse to you is an important cultural ritual to another person. This is Africans, doing African things in Africa. Stop this thing of trying to dictate to people about their customs. It’s wrong,” they argued.

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