Chicken shortage in KFC restaurants? Does that sound plausible? Well, chicken shortage forced about a third of KFC outlets in the UK to shut down, three days ago, unlikely as it may seem. The fast food giant attributed the shortage in delivery to "a couple of teething problems" caused by its recent logistics partner, DHL.

KFC reassured its customers that its "restaurant teams who are working flat out to get us back up and running again." In the UK, including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, only about 300 out of KFC's 900 restaurants were open on Monday, it was reported by the fast food chain.

Operational issues were the main reasson for this hiccup in KFC in UK, it was reported. DHL, meanwhile, has promised to tone up its distribution network with "a greater focus on innovation, quality and service performance."

Several KFC restaurants were forced to operate on restricted menu options, which did not feature chicken. Some cut down their working hours. KFC, on its part sought to humorously play down the chicken shortage and fix the problem. It reassured its partners that "the Colonel is working on it", referring to its founder, Col. Sanders who became synonymous with fried chicken after he came up with his legendary recipe at the age of 62 . Col. Sanders had franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken more than 6 decades ago and KFC over the years, became a prominent fast food brand with a worldwide presence.

The Kentucky-based KFC also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Today, the fast food giant has franchises in more than a 100 countries. When reports last came in less than a day ago, the shortage of chicken, which first took place on February 16, continued. KFC it has been reported, is taking stock of this unprecedented chicken crisis.