Tens of thousands of chickens have died in an Abbotsford, B.C., barnfire.

Firefighters were called to the property in the Ross Road area around 1 p.m Tuesday. They arrived to find the two-storey barn fully engulfed by "flames from one end to the other."

Assistant fire chief Ron Hull said there were around 25,000 chickens inside.

Firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading to a second barn. (Kevin MacDonald)

"It is a loss to the farmer and there's a time frame for getting the farm back up and running, so it is a fairly big loss for the owners of the farm," he said.

Hull said crews were able to stop the flames from spreading to a second barn, which likely would've burned down as well, given the hot, dry weather.

The assistant fire chief said the Abbotsford Fire Department continues to investigate how it started.