It’s anyone’s guess how a stray chicken ended up at Reagan National Airport this past weekend.
The fowl was spotted on the departures level around 8 a.m. on Sunday, according to a social media post that has received over half a million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A random chicken was spotted at DCA at 8 am this morning 💀 pic.twitter.com/wUf2Y3F9My
— Washingtonian Problems (@WashProbs) October 20, 2024
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington quickly responded and took the bird to its shelter.
“We have no idea where she came from,” AWLA spokesperson Chelsea Jones told ARLnow. “There are people who own chickens in Arlington despite the laws, so it’s possible she escaped her home and made it over to the airport, but really it’s anyone’s guess!”
Airport spokesperson Crystal Nosal said she is also unsure where the chicken came from.
Attention passengers: 🐔✈️ Over the weekend, one of our officers picked up a very flighty traveler outside National Airport! This chicken must’ve been trying to catch the red-eye or maybe she was just winging it. She’s safe with us now, waiting for a new coop to call home. pic.twitter.com/iJtJQ13TfE
— AWLArlington, VA (@AWLAArlington) October 21, 2024
While chickens, ducks and turkeys are technically legal to keep in Arlington, there are strict restrictions on where the birds can go and how they can be housed. It’s illegal, for instance, for fowl to “trespass” onto someone else’s property.
Despite the laws, this not the first chicken spotted on the loose in the county.
One rogue chicken inspired a song on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” after it was caught sneaking around the Pentagon entrance in 2022.
A rooster was spotted running amok near Lubber Run Park in 2021, and in 2016, another chicken was found in a park near Courthouse.
In 2013, backyard hen raising was a hot topic of conversation in Arlington, as a group pushed to allow chicken coops in more backyards. The county ultimately decided against it.
The latest wayward bird is technically considered a stray animal, Jones said, so the AWLA has to hold her for six days before anyone can adopt her.
After that, she’s fair game.
