A rooster born with a third leg has become a farmer's personal lucky charm in Thailand.

The five-month-old chicken, Chao Sam, was born with the extra limb at the farm of Phattana Kotamang, 55, in Chonburi province.

Phattana claimed the mutant rooster has since brought good fortune for his business, which he claimed has been thriving since Chao Sam's arrival.

Footage shows Chao Sam walking around with the short, two-taloned leg jutting out near his tail feathers.

Phattana said he was stunned upon seeing the chick born with a third leg, but decided to keep the animal believing its deformity was a sign of good luck.

He said: 'The third leg looks like a hook pointing inward, as if calling it's calling money. Someone had offered to buy Chao Sam for 100,000 baht (2,300 GBP) but I refused because I am already attached to him. I scatter rice around the house for him to graze, and he returns to his cage in the evening.'

Neighbours and other villagers sometimes visit the farm to take pictures of Chao Sam, hoping they too can be blessed by his purported blessing.

Chao Sam 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.