Company gives staff live chickens as holiday gift

Chickens chill in gift boxes that were given to employees at a renovation company in Changsha, Hunan Province as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts. The festival is usually marked with the gifting of mooncakes; a traditional and heavy pastry. Photo: Sanxiang City Express

With less than a few weeks to go before China's Mid-Autumn Festival, most companies are readying to hand out boxes of the usual mooncakes that most end up re-gifting.

However, one renovation company in Changsha, Hunan Province threw a curveball this year by presenting its more than 300 employees with a box containing a live chicken.

According to an employee surnamed Xia, the chickens were bought from local farmers facing hard times due to the drought that parched southern China early this summer, reported the Sanxiang City Express on September 2.

"The company chose this gift to help poultry farmers get through the year," said Xia, adding she has raised the chicken on her balcony for a few days. Xia did not mention what she would do with the chicken afterwards.