A California dog walker had the opportunity to adopt a disabled chicken, and social media loved him so much they’ve sent over 60 pairs of tiny shoes and boots.
The Malaysian Serama breed chicken lost his toes to leg scale mites, a debilitating arachnoid parasite. New owner Meech Davignon of Escondido California had to suffocate them using vaseline and cotton wool which she had to change three times a day.
Nursing him back to health, she began affectionately calling him “Nubz” after the short ends of his toes.
But this loving attention won her a most charismatic chicken, who “rules the roost” among her dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and 11 other chickens, even though he hobbled around.
Davignon realized he had trouble moving on hard surfaces, and remembered she had a pair of tiny dog slippers that her smallest pooch never used. She thought they might help Nubz.
“As he got more comfortable wearing his little shoes, I’d leave them on longer each time,” Davignon told the Washington Post. “Pretty soon, he was getting around a lot better than he did without them because they were great little mobility devices. I’d let him wear them to walk on wood chips and anything else that was rough on his feet.”
Last January, the odd couple celebrated 1 year of companionship, and Davignon celebrated by making a TikTok account for Nubz with videos of him walking about in his little slippers. It created a viral firestorm of interest in the chicken, with commenters asking if it would be okay to send Nubz more shoes.
@calliopenubz Because it deserves more attention, just look at his little strut 😭🥰❤️ This little dude has improved so much!!! Help us share his awesomeness! Please like, comment, share, interact... we are trying to raise money for a sanctuary and every view helps us ❤️❤️❤️
♬ original sound - Calliope Nubz
“They’ve been a great blessing—it’s surreal to have so many people love my tiny little chicken,” said Davignon.
The packages began arriving by the dozen, and soon Nubz could pick between Sunday shoes, blue suede shoes, dinosaur claw boots, plush booties, sandals, and more.
She keeps them all in a dresser in her room, and every time a new pair comes in the mail she posts a video on TikTok of the chicken strutting his stuff. Davignon said his favorite pair are some dark blue boots that look somewhat like Ugs. He can move about faster than normal in them.
MORE SOCIAL MEDIA STARS: Farmer Filmed the Adorable Moment His Newborn Quails Caused a Mini Stampede in His Home
Currently, the 3-year-old bird is in physical rehab for a pair of degenerative disks in his neck, which she was able to treat with—get this—avian acupuncture, with the help of her TikTok followers.
Currently in a little wheelchair, she is sure he will be back to his plucky self before long.
SHARE The Social Media Sensation of Poultry in Boots With Your Friends…