Ran away, having given food to about fifty (4)
I believe the answer is:
fled
'ran away' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'given food to about fifty' is the wordplay.
'given food' becomes 'fed' (I've seen this before).
'to about' is an insertion indicator.
'fifty' becomes 'L' (Roman numeral).
'fed' enclosing 'l' is 'FLED'.
'having' is the link.
(Other definitions for fled that I've seen before include "Having run or hurried away" , "Female showed the way and escaped" , "Ran or hurried away" , "dashed off elsewhere" , "Did a runner" .)