A chicken had surgery to remove 300 grams of enormous amount of eggs that were forming in the egg-producing organ.
The story about a chicken owner who did everything she could to save her pet from dying due to a backlog of unformed eggs has captured Kiwi hearts.
Destiny Singer has since spoken about the bulge in her pet chicken Lily's abdomen and the procedure that saved herlife on The Hits and TVNZ's Seven Sharp.
The procedure was performed by veterinarian Dr Hein Stoop, who removed an almost 300g mass of old eggs from Lily during surgery - costing Singer $529.
Singer, a 54-year-old nurse, said this all feels like a dream.
"I can't believe all of the attention we've been getting, the crew from Seven Sharp were down here yesterday to film us.
"It was a bit strange looking at myself on TV, I've never experienced anything like that before, but I was excited about it."
At first, Singer believed Lily's bulge was a stuck egg, but Stoop thought it was a tumour, saying Lily was on "death's doorstep" and offering to "put her to sleep".
Destiny Singer paid $529 so that her pet chicken Lily could get life-saving surgery at Whanganui Veterinary Services. Photo / Bevan Conley
Singer wasn't having a bar of it, she accepted Stoop's surgery offer and after a tricky hour long procedure in which her oviduct was removed, Lily was saved.
Despite struggling to keep up with the hype of the story, Singer was looking forward to reading people's reactions online on Wednesday.
"My friends and family are calling me a celebrity, saying I'm famous and they're complimenting me - saying I did the right thing," Singer said.
Dr Stoop believed Lily might have a tumour when an X-ray of the chicken confirmed that she did not have a lone egg stuck in her. Surgery later revealed a 300-gram build-up of eggs.
"It's just a very unusual story about an owner and a chicken and because of the vet bill, I guess a lot of people are surprised by it."
Lily has been oblivious to the attention, running around, eating and digging holes in the backyard as interested camera operators film her.
As well as owning three more chickens, Singer also has two ducks and two dogs that she would do anything for.
"I'm hoping that other pet owners would get ideas from the story of Lily and that they wouldn't hesitate to take their pet to the vet if necessary," she said.
"It doesn't matter if it's a dog, a cat or a chicken, if it's our pet, we owe them a care of duty. It's our responsibility to get them the best care."
