A farming couple faced a property division problem during their divorce when they were unable to fairly distribute their jointly raised 53 poultry. As a result, the judge required them to cook and eat the extra chicken, and only after finishing this meal could they finalize their divorce—perfectly resolving this property dispute.
According to a report by Jimu News, a court in Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, China, recently heard this unusual case of divorce property division, where a farmer couple finally reached an amicable distribution of the 53 poultry they had jointly raised under the court’s mediation.
According to the Daishi Town People’s Court in Qianfeng District, which took the case this May, due to the unique regulations surrounding rural homestead land in China, couples from different villages cannot divide up real estate, which left the live poultry as the main disputed assets.
The two parties disagreed on the division of 29 chickens, 22 geese, and 2 ducks. Presiding judge Chen Qian stated that both parties are farmers, and these poultry are an important economic source for them.
In court, the wife emphasized, “The big goose was raised by me personally,” while the husband asserted, “I also contributed to the care of the goslings and chickens and ducks.” Both parties agreed on the total count, but each felt entitled to more compensation.
Faced with the poultry being of different sizes and a total number that was odd, Judge Chen Qian proposed an innovative solution: to divide the 22 geese into 3 large geese and 8 small geese for distribution, and the 2 ducks were split equally.
As for the 29 chickens, they were split in half, and for the remaining one, it was suggested that the couple eat it together. Otherwise, whoever took the extra chicken would have to compensate the other party.
“Eat the chicken! Let’s eat the chicken together!” The judge’s proposal unexpectedly won unanimous approval from both parties, and in the end, before completing the divorce process, the two shared this symbolically significant meal.
Despite facing each other in court, the couple maintained basic goodwill. The husband even gave the wife a ride to court on his electric scooter, and after mediation, promised to take her home. The judge suggested they could negotiate the joint use of the house in the future, to which both made no objection.