Hen hitchhikes 25 miles on spare wheel of Land Rover to Stonehaven

A runaway chicken captured attention in rural Scotland after it hitchhiked 25 miles on the spare wheel of a Land Rover, traveling from Kintore to Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.

Stonehaven resident Dave Jacobs, 58, spotted the bird at about 6 a.m. on Saturday while cycling to the sea for his morning paddleboarding session. He initially assumed the chicken belonged to a neighbor and placed the bird in a coop while he and his family prepared for a weekend away. He later learned the chicken actually belonged to a farmer about 25 miles away.

A social-media appeal then led to contact from a farmer in Kintore, who confirmed the missing bird belonged to him. The couple living near Jacobs also confirmed they weren’t missing any feathered friends, suggesting the chicken had traveled far beyond its usual range. The farmer explained that the bird may have hopped onto a friend’s Land Rover and nestled into the spare wheel, clinging on for the entire journey.

With the help of some passers-by, Jacobs managed to herd the chicken into a coop. He then alerted the farmer, who arrived to take custody of the bird and verify the animal’s identity. The farmer shared that another bird from his flock had also gone missing, though he did not know whether that second bird was involved in the current mystery.

Jacobs told local reporters he was "surprised" by the discovery and was even more stunned to learn the bird had traveled such a distance at what he described as the vehicle’s speed, perched on the spare wheel rather than the roof. "I couldn't believe that a chicken had travelled that far at the speed of 60 or 70 miles an hour on the back of a Land Rover because it was sitting on the spare wheel, not even on the roof," he said. The farmer noted that the birds in his flock sometimes ride on the back of his Land Rover when they accompany him around the farm, a detail that added to the humor of the episode.

The tale sits alongside other recent Scottish animal stories that have captured public imagination. In a separate incident last year, a missing dog in the Scottish Highlands prompted a large-scale search that relied on drones, thermal imaging, and community volunteers to locate the animal after weeks of roaming. The events underscore how rural communities rally around misplaced pets and unexpected wildlife alike, turning a stray moment into a local anecdote.

As the chicken settled back into farm life and the owner confirmed the return, observers noted the broader charm of such episodes. They serve as light, human-interest moments that illustrate how fragile boundaries between farm life and everyday city routines can be—and how a simple roadside encounter can become a story shared across social media and local news screens alike.