Thousands of chooks die in truck fire on South Australian freeway

Thousands of chickens are believed to have died after a truck caught fire on a major South Australian road.

The blaze was reported about 4.30am.

The truck was on the citybound track of South Eastern Freeway between Mt Barker and Hahndorf, outside Adelaide.

About 4000 chickens were being transported on the semi-trailer.

Police reported about half of the chooks died before the fire was brought under control.

Traffic was backed up heavily during peak hour, but police have said it has since returned to normal.

The cause of the blaze is currently unknown.