A desperate cry from beneath an HDB block turned an ordinary Sunday outing into an unexpected wildlife rescue in Singapore.
SINGAPORE — What began as a routine trip out to buy food became a heartwarming rescue mission for a Marine Terrace family after they discovered a tiny chick trapped inside a drain beneath an HDB block.
The incident happened on Sunday, August 23, at around 4pm in the Marine Terrace area on Singapore’s east coast.
Connie Tay and her daughter had initially heard chicks calling while they were out, but the sound did not immediately raise alarm because wild chickens are regularly seen around their neighbourhood. When they returned roughly half an hour later, however, one persistent cry was still coming from the direction of a drain.
That was when they decided to investigate.
According to AsiaOne, the pair found a small chick behind the drain grilles, chirping as it moved through the channel. Tay later described hearing what sounded like the chick’s desperate calls both before and after their outing.
Chick kept running deeper into the drain
Getting the frightened bird out proved more difficult than simply reaching down and picking it up.
The chick would move away whenever the rescuers approached, forcing the family to come up with another strategy.
Lianhe Zaobao reported that Tay’s 19-year-old daughter, a first-year student at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, rushed home to get her father while her mother remained near the drain keeping watch.
Her father then came downstairs carrying a rice bag.
The family opened part of the drain covering and attempted to guide the chick towards the bag from the opposite end. Because the frightened bird kept darting around, the rescuers reportedly needed two attempts before finally getting it safely out.
Video footage shared online shows the family using noise and movement above the drain to encourage the chick along the channel before eventually capturing it.
But getting the bird out was only half the mission.
The family went looking for its mother
Instead of simply releasing the chick nearby, the family began searching around the estate for the adult bird they believed it belonged to.
Their search eventually led them to another HDB block, where they spotted a hen surrounded by several other chicks.
The hen was reportedly known to the family as Bella.
After comparing the rescued chick with the rest of the brood, the family approached carefully so the birds would not scatter.
Tay’s daughter then gently lowered the rescued chick to the ground.
Within moments, it raced towards the hen and rejoined the other chicks — bringing the rescue to an emotional conclusion.
Marine Terrace’s wild chickens have become familiar neighbours
Zaobao reported that wild chickens have become a familiar sight around parts of Marine Terrace, particularly among older residents who have grown accustomed to seeing the birds roaming through the estate.
The student’s family said there had previously been complaints about the birds, including attempts to catch a rooster. Residents reportedly discussed the issue and approached their local representative, after which the rooster remained in the area and eventually became part of a growing family of birds.
That familiarity may explain why the rescuers went beyond simply freeing the trapped chick.
For them, these were not just anonymous animals passing through the estate — they had become part of the neighbourhood landscape.
Rescue wins praise online
Tay later uploaded footage of the rescue to the Facebook group Singapore Wildlife Sightings, where viewers praised the family’s patience and willingness to help.
The video had attracted about 10,000 views by the time one follow-up report was published, with commenters applauding the rescue and the successful reunion between the chick and its mother.
Tay also joked after the rescue that the chick should avoid falling into the drain again, otherwise her daughter might be too worried to return to her university hall.
For a family that had simply stepped out to buy food, the afternoon ended very differently from how it began.
A faint cry beneath an HDB block had led to a family-wide rescue operation — and, eventually, one tiny chick running straight back to its mother.
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