A couple of hundred bright-yellow baby chicks made a mad dash on a highway near Toronto this morning, closing the major road for hours.

The scene on the Queen Elizabeth Expressway ramp towards Toronto in Beamsville (Niagara Region) was a fluffy mess this afternoon while baby chickens ran amok.

The highway was closed around 1:30 p.m. as the tiny balls of feathers littered the roadways with Ontario Provincial Police officers rushing to collect them.

Caution: #QEW on ramp Toronto bound and Ontario St N. A truck carrying baby chicks has lost hundreds of chicks on the on-ramp. #Burlington #OPP on scene. ^nm

— OPP GTA Traffic (@OPP_GTATraffic) August 29, 2022

"Caution: #QEW on ramp Toronto bound and Ontario St N. A truck carrying baby chiks has lost hundreds of chicks on the on-ramp," read a tweet from the OPP GTA Traffic account.

The account was pretty quiet on details for hours until an update came in shortly before 5 a.m. telling the story of the great chick escape.

Why did 2400 chickens try to cross the road?🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣🐥🐣
Because the driver forgot to close the door. 🚚#BurlingtonOPP and public helped to get all the chicks back in the truck and on their way. Location-Ontario Street, Beamsville to #QEW Toronto bound. All clear now. pic.twitter.com/5kKAXtODgl

— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) August 29, 2022

In total, more than 2,000 chicks had escaped the truck they were being carried in, dotting the ramp and grassy areas with yellow feathers.

And the reason for the escape? It seems the driver forgot to close the door, prompting the chicks to run wild.

"Why did 2400 chickens try to cross the road? Because the driver forgot to close the door. #BurlintonOPP and public helped to get all the chicks back in the truck and one their way. Location-Ontario Street, Beamsville to #QEW Toronto bound. All clear now," reads a tweet from the OPP Highway Safety Division.

Photos shared by the OPP show people collecting the chicks and corralling them into boxes or containers, stuffed full to the brim.

The teeny-tiny babies appeared to be resting or walking in the tall grasses off the side of the highway.

UPDATE: Caution: QEW on ramp is REOPENED Toronto bound and Ontario St N. #Burlington #OPP on scene. ^nm

— OPP GTA Traffic (@OPP_GTATraffic) August 29, 2022

The ramp officially reopened around 4 p.m., meaning it took about three hours to collect every single last chick.