Can a final girl find love? After Opal the chicken was the sole survivor of a predatory attack on her chicken coop in 2019, her owner asked animal sanctuary Gentle Barn in Saint Louis, Missouri to take her so she would be safe and not alone. Upon entering Gentle Barn, love bloomed between a fowl and a chicken.
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Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation, described the effect Opal had on a wandering guinea fowl that the sanctuary has dubbed David Bowie.
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“It was love at first sight!” Laks said. “David Bowie took one look at Opal from outside the fence and once inside, followed her around relentlessly. We had other chickens, turkeys and even a duck, but he only had eyes for Opal.”
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The sanctuary doesn’t know how David Bowie came to be running around loose. Guinea fowl are native to West Africa. Their popularity has spread and they’ve found their way onto many farms around the world. Gentle Barn quickly adopted David Bowie into the flock. Opal wasn’t initially sure about this weird bird who became her protective shadow, but he soon won her over.
It’s not the first time the Gentle Barn, which operates sanctuaries in California, Nashville and Saint Louis, witnessed unusual relationships.
“We have had a chicken in love with a pig, and a turkey bonded with a sheep,” Laks said. “I suppose anything is possible.”
It’s a cute story, but can make us ponder what’s going on beneath the surface of all animals.
“I think the emotional life of birds is more complex and deep than we imagine it to be,” Laks said. “I think they feel pain, have preferences, opinions, wants and needs, and seek to fall in love and know that they matter, just like we do. When any of us are looking through the lens of love and similarity, instead of through opposition and separation, the only thing we will find is happiness and happy endings.”
Laks founded The Gentle Barn in 1999, fulfilling a childhood dream. Animal lovers are invited to tour the sanctuaries and participate in cow hug therapy. Support the cause from afar by making a donation or shopping at the online store.
Lead image via Gentle Barn
