17-year-old releases chickens into his high school's hallways as a prank, asks mom to use a fake alibi so he wouldn't get in trouble: 'The prank resulted in some significant property damage, including broken windows'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Dec 28, 2024 6:00 PM EST

Senior pranks are often celebrated as a fun way for teenagers to release some harmless steam. They will blow up hundreds of balloons and fill the hallways with them or tie some cans and a "Just Married" sign to the cars of two infamous teachers. My high school was extremely against senior pranks of any kind. It didn't matter if it was as harmless as a school-wide whoopie cushion incident; If you were responsible for a Senior prank, you weren't allowed to walk across the stage and accept your diploma at graduation. As a class-clown type, I found this utterly repulsive. Why must pranks, which are harmless and fun by nature, be punished so severely? However, after growing up a little and reading about the incident in this story, I now understand this policy. Just because a prank isn't harmful intentionally doesn't mean it can't hurt people and damage property. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10447815424
    via Niclas Dehmel

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITAH for refusing to help my son cover up a prank that led to a school's property damage?
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 03
    My (45F) son (17M) and his friends pulled a prank at their high school that went way too far. They thought it would be funny to release a bunch of live chickens into the school as a senior prank. Unfortunately, the prank caused a lot of chaos and resulted in some significant property damage, including broken windows and damaged equipment.
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 04
    My son came home panicking and asked me to help him come up with an alibi so he wouldn't get in trouble. He admitted that he and his friends were the masterminds behind the prank. I was furious and told him that I wouldn't help him lie. I believe he needs to take responsibility for his actions.
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 05
    He's now facing potential disciplinary action from the school, and he's really upset with me for not having his back. He says that I'm being too harsh and that it was just a harmless prank that got out of hand. My husband thinks I should have supported our son and helped him avoid trouble.
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 06
    I feel strongly that this is a valuable lesson in accountability, but I can't shake the feeling that maybe I'm being too hard on him. AITAH?
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 07
    mataliandy •20h ago • My brother and his friends pulled a similar (no chickens, but it resulted in property damage) prank when they were kids. All the parents were brought in for a discussion. Everyone by my parents tried to make excuses for their kids. My father said: "We all know they did it. How much is our share?" He pulled out his checkbook, paid
    via u/mataliandy
  • 08
    it on the spot and walked out. Then he made my brother get a job to pay him back. Dad was the least popular person in the neighborhood for a while, but the school got fixed, and all the kids got permanent after-school detention for the subsequent semester, instead of being suspended or expelled, which is what would have happened, otherwise.
    via u/mataliandy
  • 09
    No_Interview_2481 THIS is how this should be handled. Your dad did a beautiful job.
    via u/No_Interview_2481
  • 10
    Beth21286 Aaaaand that's called parenting. OP should use this as a guide. If it was a harmless prank there wouldn't be negative consequences. He's 17 not 12. Sk it up buttercup before the School decides to get the police involved.
    via u/Beth21286
  • 11
    Comfortable_Box_7559 yes this is how they take accountability. my dad bailed me out once and i stupidly did the same thing again. that time, though, i had to dig myself out and the consequences were a lot harsher as I was no longer a teen.
    via u/Comfortable_Box_7559
  • 12
    but your story makes me wonder if the other parents are gonna lie for their kids because i'm assuming he didn't come up with this alibi idea on his own. i hope the school doesn't treat him as the sole perpetrator...
    via u/Comfortable_Box_7559
  • 13
    Feathers137 My mom always says "the first time you call me from the police station, I'll bail you out. The second time you call me from the police station, I'll just hang up and you can figure it out yourself"
    via u/Feathers137
  • 14
    4011s 21h ago There is a LOT missing here. I raised chickens for a bit. They are NOT powerful enough to break a school's window on their own, nor can they break equipment unless its extremely fragile to begin with.
    via u/4011s
  • 15
    Whatever you son and his friends DID do, it obviously went beyond just "releasing chickens" onto school property. NTA for not supporting his lies...he's not telling the truth about what happened....or you aren't.
    via u/4011s
  • 16
    CreativeMusic5121 I'm imagining they broke the windows and then put the chickens inside.
    via u/CreativeMusic5121
  • 17
    Beneficial-Ad4047 Either that or the windows were broken by people freaking out about the chickens.
    via u/Beneficial-Ad4047
  • 18
    Thespis 1962 I can't explain the broken window, but the property damage is probably a lot of chicken on various things. Carpet, furniture, printers, etc. I've had chickens too, and the amount of they can produce is astounding.
    via u/Thespis1962

    Let's just say, they make fertilizer the natural way

  • 19
    asedfx NTA. A prank is one thing, but releasing live animals into a school and causing damage crosses the line. He needs to face what he did, and by refusing to cover for him, you're showing him that actions have consequences. You're right to teach him responsibility, even if it's hard.
    via u/asedfx
  • 20
    Cookie-Wu NTA. Look, your son messed up big time, and while I get that he's freaking out, helping him cover it up isn't doing him any favors. This isn't just some harmless prank; it caused actual damage to the school. Actions have consequences, and he needs to face them.
    via u/Cookie-Wu
  • 21
    If you helped him lie, what would he learn? That mommy and daddy will bail him out every time he screws up? Nah. You're teaching him accountability, which is way more valuable than saving his ego right now. He'll be mad, sure, but someday (probably not soon, let's be real), he'll realize you did the right thing. Stay strong.
    via u/Cookie-Wu
  • 22
    SkyGlimmer19 OP For context, my son has never been in trouble before and is generally a good kid. However, I believe that actions have consequences, and shielding him from those consequences won't help him learn or grow. I'm trying to teach him the importance of owning up to his mistakes
    via u/SkyGlimmer19
  • 23
    Lmdr1973 The school probably caught him on camera anyway. It would've been ridiculous to lie. You would've looked even worse when they found out the truth.
    via u/Lmdr1973
  • 24
    serendipasaurus "For context, my son has never been in trouble before and is generally a good kid." With all due respect, and I mean this very genuinely, he's never been caught before. As a kid, I did a few things that I could have been in trouble for had I been caught. I was not caught. My parents didn't know until we were grown adults and told them about things we did as kids. People viewed me as an exception, outstanding, good example kind of kid. I was far from perfect and did dumb things so
    via u/serendipasaurus
  • 25
    Making a big mistake and experiencing consequences and not having the life experience to envision potential outcomes is how we learn sometimes. If he learns anything, it should be to know when to say no to bad ideas of other kids, for example. I feel for him and you.
    via u/serendipasaurus
  • 26
    chickenfightyourmom 30-odd years ago, we also released chickens in the school during passing period as a senior prank. 6-7 of them. Also, a few baby piglets. One of the piglets ran into an English classroom and pooped on the floor. That was the only "damage." I'm stumped to figure out why OPs son's school had so much property damage. I don't think OP is getting the whole story.
    via u/chickenfightyourmom

  • Maybe a chicken would chew on a power chord? I feel like the have more capacity for damage than we might think, especially if they're in an unfamiliar hallway surrounded by hundreds of teenagers who don't care if they live or d*e.

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parents of teens family drama school chicken teenager teenagers raising teens dad prank chickens high school family pranks mom immature high schoolers son
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