Agatha the chicken went missing two weeks ago
She had always been an inquisitive bird, according to her owner
Her owners found out she had climbed on board a delivery van
Her owner Melanie Brookes launched a Facebook search to find her
A hitchhiking hen named Agatha, whose disappearance sparked a Facebook search, has been found 40 miles (64km) from her home in a Derbyshire village.
Agatha the chicken jumped on to a delivery van at the home of her owner, Melanie Brookes.
The driver did not discover the bird until his next delivery in the village of Hathersage.
Mrs Brookes launched a Facebook campaign to find Agatha and eventually tracked her down.
She said: "We didn't know where she'd gone.
"We went out round the fields looking for her but couldn't see any feathers, which you'd normally see if she'd been taken by an animal.
"A delivery van had been here dropping off pipes for our extension and I wondered if she had jumped on board, but my husband thought I was being silly."
'Such a character'
However, when Mrs Brookes phoned the delivery company to check, the manager said the driver had seen her jump out of the van in Hathersage.
Mrs Brookes launched a Facebook page to find Agatha, a two-year-old brown warren.
She said: "It took two weeks for us to find her. In the end, we spoke to a farmer and he knew the man who had found her."
It transpired Agatha was found by a man who also kept chickens.
Mrs Brookes, who has kept chickens as pets for three years said: "We haven't stopped smiling since. We missed her, she is such a character.
"We think we might have to put a sign up asking delivery drivers to check they have no unwanted packages on board. But apart from that, there's not much we can do. She's so inquisitive."
- Published11 December 2012
- Published5 May 2011
