A MYSTERY has been hatched in Kinlet after a woman found her pet chicken looking after two baby rabbits.

Rebecca Wright, of Button Bridge Lane, said she found the rabbits nesting under chicken Cheryl’s wings on Saturday while checking to see if the bird had hatched her chick.

Miss Wright - who owns Cheeky Chicks, a company which makes novelty chicken coops - said: “There was this funny-looking thing underneath Cheryl and it was a rabbit nested under her wings - she was feeding it.

“As soon as we picked the rabbits up, Cheryl went crazy and started flapping her wings. She is really protective of them. She has had chicks before so is very maternal.

“We have got rabbits here as well but I do not know how she got hold of those rabbits. It is a mystery - you have to see it to believe it.

“Cheryl is feeding them like they are her own so we are going to leave them with her to see what happens.”

Miss Wright said she has owned Cheryl - named after pop star Cheryl Cole - for about 18 months and she also owns several chickens and about six rabbits.

“We have not named the rabbits yet,” she added. “They seem really happy so we hope they will make a good family.”