We have chickens, we do, real live ones!
H has an allotment and in his own typical and H like way he has quietly and with determination worked his plan. I knew he wanted chickens and in my typical and Helen like way would look at chicken houses and runs and show him and he would look and say "Uh huh" and carry on.
He mentioned that he was going to build his own chicken house and he wouldn't be buying anything ready made and that's as far as he explained.
Every morning, as we leave for school there will be 3 wooden pallets in the back of the car and I will drop him and the pallets off at the allotment and day by day I have seen just what he has done.

It's almost finished now, it has the full height and a roof, it is enclosed with fences and posts. I need to take some pictures now because it is so impressive, the weather has been horrendous and still, except for the very worst days he has been there, building and making ready.
At the moment we have 7 chickens, 5 are still very young, one cockerel and one chicken are fully grown and every day our one big chicken gives us an egg.
The joy these little creatures have already given us is quite extraordinary, Isaac is particularly enamoured of them and every day before school he goes to see them and pick one of them up, the older birds are called Clarence and Clarissa and Isaac loves to hold Clarissa and she seems to quite like him.
The younger ones are still nervy and the boys change their names every day.
I am astounded at how much these little creatures eat! My goodness, all day long they scratch and eat and eat and scratch! Forget having a dog to clear the left overs, give it to the chickens! They eat everything ( apart from meat though they do love mash made with gravy in it) they love fruit and green vegetable, peelings, bread, cereal, rice throw it down and they'll eat it all.
We give them corn mix and oyster shells too and so far the eggs are pretty darn delicious.

Clarence. who is splendid.

Clarissa who gives delicious eggs.

We also have fruit trees at the allotment and at home, we have blackberries, strawberries, plums, apples, pears, white currants, gojiberries, blueberries and gooseberries.  Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, kale and green beans.  It is enormously satisfying and it is the making of my H, he is in his element entirely alone all day with the earth and some creatures for company, he is happier than I have ever known him.