The film tells the story of a rebellious chicken named Ginger who stubbornly tries to break out of a prison camp-like chicken farm with all the chickens. However, this is repeatedly prevented by the owners of the farm, Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy.
One day, the American rooster Rocky ends up in the chicken farm, and Ginger draws new hope that he can finally escape. Due to a misunderstanding, she thinks Rocky can fly and teach the other chickens to do so. Rocky does not clear up the misunderstanding, but enjoys his life with the hens. But the undertaking becomes all the more urgent when Mrs. Tweedy orders a "chicken pie machine" and it is no longer just about the chickens' daily egg quota, but about the chickens themselves. Ginger is supposed to "test" the machine as a guinea pig, but luckily she is saved by Rocky.
The next day, Ginger finds out that Rocky has left. A poster shows that Rocky was actually just a "stunt rooster" who was fired from a cannon and does not have the ability to fly. As a result, Ginger and the chickens fall into a depression. The older rooster Fowler tells the chickens about his time as a mascot for the Royal Air Force, which gives Ginger the idea of building a bird-like, pedal-powered aeroplane.
Mrs. Tweedy demands that her husband collect all the chickens in order to put them in the machine he has repaired. When Mr. Tweedy discovers the chickens, he is left by surprise and tied up. The chickens then finish the plane and try to fly over a fence with it. Meanwhile, after looking at a billboard advertising Mrs. Tweedy's chicken pies, Rocky feels remorseful and rejoins the chickens that manage to escape from the farm. But Mrs. Tweedy holds on to a Christmas light chain attached to the plane. She wants to kill Ginger for good. However, she is able to avoid the axe, so Mrs. Tweedy cuts the string of lights instead. It then falls down and gets stuck in the safety valve of the chicken pie machine. Due to the pressure that builds up, the machine explodes, destroying a large part of the farm. Mr. Tweedy, who has freed himself in the meantime, criticises his wife for not listening to him. When Mrs. Tweedy wants to yell at him, he drops a door on her.
The chickens continued their flight until they reached an island. This is where a life in freedom begins for them. Ginger and Rocky have grown closer and enter into a relationship with each other.
