【Bawdy Tales of Edo: Octopus & Sea Shell】

Steve Morrow had no idea what he was getting into when he put in a peculiar bid on Bawdy Tales of Edo: Octopus & Sea Shellthe New Zealand auction site Trade Me.

The sale was for "one 1000" hens, according to Stuff. The ad also read, "As a matter of urgency we need to move approximately 1000 hens." A small free-range egg farm was closing down and needed to re-home its birds. Morrow thought the auction winner would be allowed to take as many hens as he or she pleased, but uh, that's not how it worked.

Eggs Chickens ,hens in cages industrial farm; Shutterstock ID 531563248; Project Name: art request; Requested By: Jose Ruiz; Licensee: PCMag Credit: Shutterstock / Cat Act Art

"When the auction closed, I thought 'this is great', I could take as many birds as I wanted," Morrow told Stuff. "But when I spoke to the man and he said it was for 1000 hens ... holy moly, I was stunned, I can tell you that."

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Morrow said the wording of the ad was "confusing," but the seller, Matthew Blomfield, didn't agree. He told Stuff he thought the ad, which mentioned 1000 hens three times, was clear.

"It's pretty bloody hard to get that wrong," he said.

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Now Morrow, the maybe-not-so-proud owner of a 1000 hens, is trying to find homes for the birds.

Rooster and Chickens. Free Range Cock and Hens; Shutterstock ID 1131785249; Project Name: art request; Requested By: Jose Ruiz; Licensee: PCMag Credit: Shutterstock / Aksenova Natalya

"He didn't just make a mistake and not follow through," Blomfield told Stuff. "He contacted Animal Sanctuary and they're helping us interview those that have put their hands up – we want to make sure these birds are going to safe homes." Morrow appears to be making significant progress.

After he posted about the incident on social media, at least 700 of the hens reportedly have new homes lined up. Morrow is keeping 20 himself.

So that leaves only about 280 hens still in need of new owners. Any takers?

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