TwitterThere are two words that may have caught you off guard as you scrolled through Twitter's top trends on Monday: Big Chicken.
And then you clicked.
There it was, stepping out of its coop, the absolute largest chicken you've ever seen in your life. Some people described the animal as "horrifying" and "nightmarish," while others became enamored by it and even went as far as wanting one for a pet.
But no matter the emotion that consumed you, everyone had so many questions...
Am I the only person wondering why this chicken is so damn big ?????? pic.twitter.com/ZIWmEL2h2w
— LifesBook_Ceo (@LifesBook_Ceo) March 19, 2017
First of all, why the hell is this chicken so damn big?
Well, we've learned the bird didn't come from a McDonald's experiment, seeking a new way to make more chicken nuggets (we all know that's not real meat anyway). Rather, this bird is an actual species, and if you continue watching the video you'll see a second feathered friend of almost the same stature pop out of the coop, too.
The breed of chicken is known as "Brahma." They were developed in the United States, but were originally imported from China back in the 1840s.
what planet is the big chicken from
— Riker Googling (@RikerGoogling) March 20, 2017
So why are we only hearing about these big chickens now?
Though they were the principal meat breed in the U.S. for almost a hundred years, that ended around 1930. The people who own these chickens now probably mostly keep them as pets, and who's willing to admit they have a massive chicken for a pet?
twitter is now the website to talk about the big chicken and not politics. everyone has to pretend to know a lot about the big chicken only
— matt ? lubchansky (@Lubchansky) March 19, 2017
the big chicken is a russian plot. read my medium post
— libby watson (@libbycwatson) March 20, 2017
Is the big chicken just a ploy to keep us from talking politics?
This is something we cannot answer, but keep up the conspiracy theories!
Just watched the big chicken video, and no shit, did we really think we could cut funding to PBS without Big Bird's family coming after us
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWilson) March 19, 2017
For example, we love Mara Wilson's Big Bird theory.
everytime i close my eyes i see that big chicken. i cant breathe. it's all i think about
— Swiggity Swooty (@CominForDaBooty) March 20, 2017
Are there more places to seek info about said Big Chicken?
Yes, if you're one of the few people who aren't having nightmares about the big bird, there's an entire Facebook page dedicated to the Brahma Chicken breed.
i just wanna know if i can put a saddle on the big chicken and ride it like a chocobo
— sola hatebad (@unrepentantmess) March 19, 2017
But the most important question of all: Can you ride the Big Chicken?
As monstrous as it looks, the chicken only weighs an average of about 18 pounds. If you're a 3-year-old toddler, then perhaps you could give it a shot, but these gentle giants are mostly good for laying eggs (and/or causing nightmares, depending on the person).
What burning questions do you have about the big chicken? Sound off in the comments below.