There are serious delays on Highway 401 in Mississauga after a truck loaded with chickens caught on fire.

It happened around 2:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the 401 at Mavis Road.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidtt tells Talk Radio AM640 that the truck was carrying 8,000 chickens and approximately 3,000 were killed in the fire.

Fire crews took a couple of hours to extinguish the flames, but the result was thousands of chickens being let loose adding to the traffic delays.

The cause of the fire is still not known, but it did start under the vehicle.

Motorists are currently dealing with serious delays and are now getting through one westbound lane as two remain closed for the cleanup.