Hundreds of chickens were killed and a highway was blocked for hours when a tractor-trailer carrying live birds overturned in south Mississippi.

Mississippi Highway Patrol officials tell WDAM-TV that the crash happened Thursday morning on U.S. Highway 42 near Richton.

Perry County Emergency Management Agency Director Colby Prine says the 18-wheeler was the only vehicle involved in the crash, and the driver was taken to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg to be treated for minor injuries.

Pictures from the scene show what appear to be hundreds of dead chickens littering the ground.

Prine says the chickens and truck belong to Mar-Jac Poultry, and representatives from the company were at the scene to collect the bodies.