I was against the idea - at first. Sure, I'm a vet and love all creatures great and small but . . . a chook as a pet? Then it was all my daughter's teacher's fault. She was the one who decided to let the grade six class learn about chickens, hatching, birth and the cabbage leaf principle and hence two dozen fertilized eggs arrived at the school at exactly the same time that my daughter's blue eyes developed that 'Dad-I-will-die-if-I-don't-have-a-chicken-as-a-pet' look.

Chickens make wonderful pets and unlike dogs and cats, you can eat their produce! If your considering getting a few chooks (as they are known affectionately in Australia) for your back yard you need to know how to make a chicken friendly chook house.

If you have never had chickens as pets then you are missing out on one of life's rich experiences. They are absorbing pets and produce consumable by-products! They are also easy to keep healthy but there are some common conditions and diseases that you need to watch or you may end up having a crook chook.