Meet Shrimp, the rooster who has fallen madly in love with disabled hen Basil

Meet Shrimp, the rooster who has fallen madly in love with disabled hen Basil.

Rescue rooster Shrimp and one-legged chicken Basil live together in their own enclosure made of mats and baby gates.

The two give each other treats, dance for each other - and even refuse to go to the vet separately.

Shrimp and Basil met at the 'Here With Us Animal Sanctuary' in Shermans Dale, Pennsylvania, USA.

Founder Amanda Clark, 33, adopted Basil and Shrimp two years ago.

Basil was taken in as part of a large-scale chicken rescue, and Shrimp was saved just one day before his euthanasia date.

The two have been living in the same sanctuary for 18 months, but it wasn't until October last year that they met and clicked.

In October 2022, Basil had to have one leg amputated due to an infection and had to be brought inside for her safety.

Around the same time, Shrimp was brought inside because he was being bullied by the other chickens in the coop.

This is when romance blossomed and - although Basil took a little longer to warm up to Shrimp, the pair are now a solid couple.

Amanda said: "He was so interested in her through the baby gate, and did a little dance as soon as he saw her.

"It's hard to believe their love is real - unless you see it."

Shrimp is very affectionate toward Basil and gets very excited to see her whenever they are separated.

He lets her eat first, gives her snacks, and even performs dances for her.

Amanda added: "It's the cutest thing ever. Whenever he can, he'll do a little dance in front of her and plop berries down so she can eat.

"They don't have any spats or anything like that. They really are the perfect couple.

"Basil is a bit more standoffish, but she just shows her love in a different way. She gets really excited when she is going to see him.

"We have to send them to the vet together, I think they'd get stressed and nervous if we separated them.

"They are one-hundred percent pets, it's no different than having a cat or a dog running around the house."