Everybody loves getting a bargain. But then again, there is such a thing as getting more than you bargained for. If you want an example, then look no further than the following story, in which a man inadvertently ended up with 1000 hens after thinking he was just buying one for less than a dollar.

Steve Morrow, who hails from New Zealand, was browsing the urgent sales on auction site Trade Me and saw a listing for a hen that he thought would be great to keep for the sake of its eggs. 

Steve initially believed that thought he was bidding for only one bird, yet after winning the auction on Sunday, he was told by seller Matthew Blomfield that he’d actually purchased 1000 of the birds.

It seemed as though Steve had neglected to read the ad assiduously. It turned out that Blomfield owned egg farm in West Auckland which was closing. The poultry all needed to be removed and re-housed urgently, and so Blomfield acted out of desperation and opted to sell them all in one go. 

Speaking to New Zealand based news outlet Stuff, he said: "When the auction closed, I thought 'this is great', I could take as many birds as I wanted. 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."

Meanwhile, Bloomfield stated: "It's pretty bloody hard to get [the sale] wrong. We discussed the logistics behind it all, he said he's worked at freehold farms. But over the weekend I think it became apparent to him that 1000 hens is a bit too many birds and must have had a change of mind."

He added: "He didn't just make a mistake and not follow through. 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."

Through a Herculean effort, Steve has now managed to find new homes for 700 of the birds and intends to take home 20 of them for himself. Hopefully, the remaining 280 chickens will find a new home soon…

Everybody loves getting a bargain. But then again, there is such a thing as getting more than you bargained for. If you want an example, then look no further than the following story, in which a man inadvertently ended up with 1000 hens after thinking he was just buying one for less than a dollar.

Steve Morrow, who hails from New Zealand, was browsing the urgent sales on auction site Trade Me and saw a listing for a hen that he thought would be great to keep for the sake of its eggs. 

Steve initially believed that thought he was bidding for only one bird, yet after winning the auction on Sunday, he was told by seller Matthew Blomfield that he’d actually purchased 1000 of the birds.

It seemed as though Steve had neglected to read the ad assiduously. It turned out that Blomfield owned egg farm in West Auckland which was closing. The poultry all needed to be removed and re-housed urgently, and so Blomfield acted out of desperation and opted to sell them all in one go. 

Speaking to New Zealand based news outlet Stuff, he said: "When the auction closed, I thought 'this is great', I could take as many birds as I wanted. 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."

Meanwhile, Bloomfield stated: "It's pretty bloody hard to get [the sale] wrong. We discussed the logistics behind it all, he said he's worked at freehold farms. But over the weekend I think it became apparent to him that 1000 hens is a bit too many birds and must have had a change of mind."

He added: "He didn't just make a mistake and not follow through. 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."

Through a Herculean effort, Steve has now managed to find new homes for 700 of the birds and intends to take home 20 of them for himself. Hopefully, the remaining 280 chickens will find a new home soon…