85 hens close Phila. high school
Who let the birds out?


The 80 chickens recovered from Northeast High School wait for relocation in a horse trailer at Fox Chase Farm.

A fowl prank closed a Philadelphia high school today, canceling classes for 3,600 students.

Eighty-five "full-blown live chickens" - identified later today as Rhode Island Reds - were discovered roaming the halls of Northeast Philadelphia High School this morning as faculty arrived before dawn.

"They've created quite a mess," said Fernando Gallard, spokesman for the school district. "It's going to take us at least a day to clean up."

The flock was let into the school on Cottman Avenue over the weekend.

Now several agencies are involved in investigating the poultry prank: the Philadelphia School District, the Philadelphia Police, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Video surveillance shows that multiple culprits gained entry into the school about 9:30 p.m. Sunday to release the hens and spread chicken feed on the floors, Gallard said.

Any break-in is supposed to trigger an alarm, but the caper was not discovered until 5 a.m. by a janitor, Gallard said. How the perpetrators got into the building and why the alarm apparently did not go off is still under investigation.