William and Kate have acquired ‘lots of chickens’; just like nephew Archie’s ‘chick inn’

Prince William has revealed that he and his family have acquired chickens at their home in the United Kingdom, just like his brother did at his house in the United States.

The Duke of Cambridge was joined by his wife Kate Middleton as they travelled to Northern Ireland on Wednesday morning. The couple, who are known in the country as Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus, were visiting Derry-Londonderry to meet young people across the city to hear how organisations are engaging across communities to promote positive relations, reports Mirror.

During the tour, they visited nursing students at Ulster University’s Magee Campus, as well as a petting zoo at the campus organised by local mobile zoo company KidzFarm, which regularly comes to the campus to help students deal with mental health and anxiety issues. When they came across chickens in cages, the Duchess told the pet handler that their family had “lots of animals during lockdown” as they were often like “therapy.” William added that they also acquired “lots of chickens” at their home.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also have a chicken coop, named “Archie’s Chick Inn,” named after their eldest son, at their Montecito mansion in Santa Barbara, California. In their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, the couple gave a look inside the coop and said that the hens inside were rescued from a factory farm as part of their “down to basics” life.

Harry and Meghan also have two pet dogs, just like William and Kate. The Duchess of Cambridge had previously revealed that they also had a pet hamster named Marvin whom her daughter Princess Charlotte really liked because its whiskers tickled her face.

Kate was also very eager to hold a tarantula which she spotted in a cage on their Wednesday visit. “Ooh, please can I hold the tarantula? What’s her name?” she asked, and laughed when she was told that the spider shares her name with her daughter Charlotte.

The tarantula then started moving up Kate’s hand, upon which William joked that it was animated by Kate’s outfit, a purple trouser suit by Emilia Wickstead. “Maybe she’s not so keen on purple, or she maybe thinks you’re a flower,” the Duke quipped.

The couple also petted a female snake during their visit, after which William revealed that their eldest son Prince George is going to be upset that he missed this as he is obsessed with snakes.