Storm Chicken chasing

A Darling Downs storm chasing chicken has risen to fame for its uncanny ability to remain calm despite the storm clouds behind it. Meet storm ‘Chicken’ here:

Storm Chicken has taken the internet by storm for its fearless posing in the face of storm clouds. Picture: Life of Chicken

A dejected, picked on chicken has risen to social media fame for chasing storms with her devoted owner, a Darling Downs agricultural worker.

“It wasn’t my idea,” said Wendy Tan, the owner of the aptly named Chicken, when asked how she and her pet first met.

Despite the initial resistance to having a chicken as a pet, Ms Tan now lovingly strokes Chicken’s neck and the pair are inseparable.

Almost exactly six years ago, Ms Tan spotted Chicken at a Darling Downs Ag show.

“She was being bullied by the other chickens and looked very dejected and sad,” she said.

“She was starting to get marks on her eyes from all the other chickens pecking her.”

Wendy Tan and her social media sensation CHICKEN. A rescue pet that has ended up travelling Australia with her. Recently they have taken advantage of storm season as STORM CHICKEN. Picture: Christine Schindler

Thinking Chicken would make a good gift for her friend, Ms Tan simply named her ‘Chicken’, “so as to not get too attached”.

But after two weeks, Chicken captured her heart and Ms Tan decided to keep her.

“She’s definitely not chicken in her nature,” said Ms Tan.

One of the first things she noticed about Chicken was that semi-trucks rolling by the side of the road barely phased her.

When photos of Chicken on her travels around Australia brought so much joy to Ms Tan’s friends and family, she decided to start a public social media page called Life of Chicken, which has amassed over 7000 followers.

Wendy Tan and her social media sensation CHICKEN. A rescue pet that has ended up travelling Australia with her. Recently they have taken advantage of storm season as STORM CHICKEN. Picture: Christine Schindler

With the incredible storms building across the Darling Downs in the last couple of months, Ms Tan said she often finds Chicken more courageous than her in the face of lightning and wind.

“One day I went storm chasing and I was just standing there and this massive bolt just went overhead and I ran, and Chicken just stayed there,” she said.

“I almost left her behind, she just handles everything, she’s very courageous,” she said.

But when the raindrops come down, that’s when it is time to leave.

Storm Chicken has taken the internet by storm for its fearless posing in the face of storm clouds. Picture: Life of Chicken

“You can see when it’s raining because she drops a tail, she doesn’t like the rain,” Ms Tan said.

Apart from other chickens and the odd hawk, Chicken fears little and Ms Tan can pick up on any nuances in Chicken’s cluck – from contented purring to flustered anger.

Even a mirror image or herself, or a photo of another chicken will put Chicken on guard and and she will start her pecking out of annoyance.

Ms Tan admits she barely knows anything about storms – but simply describes the clouds as she sees them and the joy she gets from sharing Chicken’s photos.

“Every day she just makes you laugh, you know, just little things like just this experience here (being interviewed), she hasn’t done that with me before, so it’s something new, isn’t it?”

Storm Chicken has taken the internet by storm for its fearless posing in the face of storm clouds. Picture: Life of Chicken