An escaped chicken which caused hilarity by repeatedly crossing one of Perth’s busiest roads has hatched her first chicks in time for Easter.
Crash was spotted near the Tesco superstore on Crieff Road last April and was rescued by the British Hen Welfare Trust.
She later found a home with Trust member Emily Kirk, 12, and gained her name as she had been hit by a car during her time on the run, but also in homage to Emily’s favourite video game character Crash Bandicoot.
After noting how protective the hen was of her eggs Emily’s stepdad Russell Wallace decided to pop a couple in an incubator.
The first of two chicks arrived last week, in Emily’s 12th birthday, with a second following a few days later.
Emily has now adopted the first chick, which she has named Tikka, while Russell and his wife Leanne will take responsibility for the second, named Fireball.
They will join the family’s flock of more than a dozen rescued chickens on their farm near Crieff.
Russell said: “We don’t know where Crash came from but we presume she escaped from a commercial lorry.
“It’s come full circle now. She’s always been broody and protective over her eggs and this was the first opportunity we’ve had to try and hatch some of them.
“We decided to try and incubate a couple of the eggs and had some success – we now have two chicks. The first arrived on Emily’s birthday so she’s taken that one.
“It’s a nice thing to have happened. We’ve had hens for about four years and have had success hatching eggs that we have bought that were commercially fertilised but this is the first time we’ve managed to hatch some that came from our own.
“We have about 15 hens at the moment and keep them for eggs, so these will join the flock.”
