More than 5,000 chickens were charred to death in a fire at a poultry farm in Ukkal village near Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai on Thursday. 

Police said the poultry farm was set up by S. Hemalatha, 39, a few years ago in her paddy field sprawling four acres. The farm, which comprises three large tin sheet-roofed sheds, houses a total of over 5,000 chickens. Fire was reported in one of the sheds around 2 a.m.

Based on an alert, firefighters from Cheyyar rushed to the spot and put out the fire after an hour. Police said that 80 bags of chicken feed were also destroyed in the incident. A case was registered by Cheyyar police.