Texas chicken flies the coop, hitches ride to Jiffy Lube

PEARLAND, Texas — People aren’t the only ones feeling cooped up during the coronavirus pandemic.

A wayward pet chicken hitched a ride with a Texas woman and her son to a Jiffy Lube on Wednesday, surprising everyone -- including the technicians performing an oil change.

Tiffany Travis, of Pearland, was returning a dog and its crate to her neighbor, Laurie Fowler, KSAT reported. As Travis left, Fowler’s pet chicken, Maggie, jumped into the back of Travis’ truck, the television station reported.

“Jury is still out if she flew into (the) bed or wheel well. Forensic Ring evidence is hazy,” Travis told KSAT.

Travis and her son left and drove three miles to a Jiffy Lube for an oil change. When she started to pay for the service, she noticed a commotion.

“My kids and I were in my husband’s truck, masked up COVID-style,” Travis told the television station. “When we were leaving the bay, because I was still in driver seat the entire time, we handed the staff my credit card through a cracked window and heard a commotion.”

That’s when Travis saw a Jiffy Lube employee chasing after Maggie, finally catching the bird as it ran around one of the service bays.

“Ma’am, is this your chicken? It just fell out of your truck,” the employee asked.

“At first I was very confused,” Travis told KSAT. “Then it dawned on me. ‘Yes, yes that is my chicken.‘”

“The JiffyLube staff [was] already cracking up. They all got out their phones and took pictures.”

Oil’s well that ends well, even for the chicken. Maggie was unhurt, except perhaps for some ruffled feathers.

“The entire experience was like a scripted sitcom and brought much-needed humor to what has been a rough few months for our family and well, humanity,” Travis told KSAT. “We all could use some laughter right about now. Thank God for funny chickens.”

Cox Media Group