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Chickens are good people; they're friendly, funny and great company keeping them safe is paramount. The Girls, as I like to call them, bring so much to your home and garden, keeping you entertained for hours. The Girls also have a few natural predators. Before the Girls move in, build them a secure home. Good materials to use for the walls of your chicken coop are chicken wire and six foot garden spikes very cheap and easy. Remember to use chicken wire for the ceiling as well.

Foxes like to dig. To keep the Girls secure, dig a trench about the length of your shovel deep, around the perimeter of the chicken coop. Install the garden spikes into the ground about six feet apart. Start the chicken wire at the base of your trench and securely attach the chicken wire to the garden spikes then fill in your trench, covering the chicken wire with the soil you removed to create the trench. When you're done, the hole is filled in and the chicken wire looks as though it is growing out of the ground. With the chicken wire buried so deep, Foxes and other creatures will be discouraged to dig under the wire for their supper.

Perching for pleasure is a past time well known to the Girls. The underside of the chicken's feet is very fleshy, allowing them to feel around for food in the soil. A rounded and soft edged perch is very important for their health and sleeping patterns. Should you install the incorrect perch for them, they won't use it. To understand how uncomfortable this can be for the Girls, cover your kitchen floor with raw rice and stand bare-footed on it for a while very uncomfortable. It's the same for the Girls. A small branch of about 2 inches in diameter is perfect or purchase some Dowling from the hardware store. Remember to provide a ramp, completed with cleats (little steps) for them to promenade up and down to their roost, remember, they're Girls and they like to be seen on their runway.

Laying the golden egg is hard work. If it's not a golden egg, don't worry; the Girls will want somewhere soft and warm to sit for a while. It's best to have the laying boxes filled with straw, about one to two feet off the ground away from the cold ground. They will want to jump up to the laying box, away from the others to lay their egg. Also, if all the Girls want to lay their egg at the same time, they will cue up, waiting for a free laying box.

These Girls are ferocious eaters, they can't get enough. Two important foods NOT to feed them are meat and citrus. Meat will encourage

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