LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was a race against the cluck as California Highway Patrol officers scrambled to rescue nearly 20 chickens that ran through highway lanes near Los Angeles.

The agency says the birds blocked a portion of Interstate 605 in the Norwalk area Tuesday morning after their cage fell from the back of a truck.

The agency tweeted photos and video of the chickens on the highway and a motorcycle officer collecting them.

Officers managed to rescue 17 birds. Two died.

One tweet asked: "why DID the chickens cross the road? Because they obviously did not want to become 'fast food' on an LA...