Chicken goes on the run

A chicken really did run: A bird has flown the coop and, in a real-life version of the animated movie “Chicken Run,” made a daring escape by hiding in a delivery van in England.

The plucky bird apparently gave her owner, Melanie Brookes, the slip by hiding in the truck.

The driver was shocked when, at the next stop, 40 miles from home, the feathered escape artist made a run for it when he opened the doors.

Unlike the movie version, though, the chicken, along with 19 others, are pets of the 50-year-old Brookes. She runs a construction company with her family, not a chicken pot pie factory.

Seems like Agatha, who is named after mystery writer Agatha Christie, simply wanted to spread her wings and have an adventure.

Brookes explained to the Daily Mail, “She was named after Agatha Christie, so it's quite fitting she's created her own little mystery for us to solve.”

Agatha’s owner said at first she thought it wasn’t much of a mystery when the bird went missing: She assumed the worst, that a fox had made a tasty meal of her.

But then she remembered that the curious chicken had been hanging around the delivery van. She called and learned that a driver had been surprised to find a feathered stowaway.

“She's a very nosy chicken, and always poking her beak into what's going on—so we're not hugely surprised that she got herself into the back of a truck,” said Brookes.

It’s not clear how long Agatha had been hatching the plan, but so far, she has successfully evaded capture. Said Brookes, “We really miss having Agatha about—she's a real character, and we'd love to find her and bring her home.”

Agatha is not the first runway to make the news: A horse and zebra that escaped from a Staten Island petting zoo were spotted on video hitting the open road. They were eventually captured and brought back.