A highway in eastern Saskatchewan was reduced to one lane Tuesday after a semi hauling 6,500 chickens hit the ditch.
RCMP were called to Highway 5 between Wadena and Kylemore around 4:30 a.m. A semi moving chickens from Canora to Saskatoon was heading westbound when its tires slipped off the road, police said in a media release. The 27-year-old driver attempted to pull the semi back onto the highway, but the truck’s load shifted, causing several crates of live chickens to spill into the ditch.
The driver was treated at the scene before he was transported to Wadena Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
RCMP were not sure how many chickens died in the crash.
Cleanup crews from Saskatoon responded to the scene. The highway was reduced to one lane from 5 a.m. until noon.
Alcohol is not believed to be a factor, RCMP said.
Wadena and Kylemore are just over 200 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
