Danger! Scrambled eggs ahead!

[TexasStooge]

DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) - A hazardous slick of broken eggs caused traffic chaos in rural Ireland Thursday after a truck carrying thousands of broody hens lost its load.

"Chickens have begun to lay eggs on the roads and the conditions are quite treacherous at the moment, very slippy," AA Roadwatch said on its traffic advice line, warning up to 7,000 chickens were on the loose.

Police said the vehicle carrying the birds may have hit a ditch, causing its boxes to "cascade off the lorry."

"The lorry has been moved off the road but the cargo is wandering around the roads out there," Sergeant Jim Greene from nearby town of Cavan told Reuters, adding there were no reports of any human casualties.

A team has been scrambled to help catch the birds, Greene said, but little could be done about their egg-laying: "We wouldn't expect anything less from a hen."