A unique rooster has become a village lucky charm as locals believe its extra leg brings good fortune.

The cock named Chao Mee Chok amazed residents with the small third limb growing out of its left foot.

Villagers and farm workers visit the avian 'oracle' at the Palang Chai Farm in Khon Kaen, Thailand, to ask for lottery predictions, which they claim are often accurate.

Chao Mee Chok's owner Wichai Sangbamrung, 42, said Chao Mee Chok was descended from a Burmese fighting cock and 'Thepleela' hen he had bred together.

Among the chicks born from the attempt, Chao Mee Chok was the only male, Wichai said.

The farmer said he originally intended for the three-legged rooster to become a fighting cock. But when he saw its third leg emerging from the three-month-old fledgling, he decided to raise it away from the fighting ring instead.

Wichai said: 'I took great care of Chao Mee Chok and made sure he didn't engage in cockfighting activities or climb up high places where he could hurt himself.

'To me, he isn't a chicken with a disability, but a symbol of fortune. I believe that taking care of him will bring good luck to my farm.

'A trainer wouldn't allow a boxer with three legs into the ring. In the same way, I wouldn't let Chao Mee Chok engage in cockfighting.

'I intend to find a mate for him because his lineage produced exceptional fighting cocks that often win fights, including matches with bets worth millions of baht.'

He added that there are now more than 30 breeding chickens and 20 fighting cocks at his farm.

Chao Mee Chok is believed to have polymelia - a genetic defect in which the affected individual or animal grows an extra limb, which is often shrunken, deformed, and non-functional.

The abnormality is believed to be caused by improper cell division during conception.