Hey Margaret (My middle name) Yep, I know what you mean about the chickens. Oh the balconyk, they would be safe. My crew, LOVES those little chickies, BUT, they do not want claws, feathers, or beaks. And, they want them cooked. sighhhh. I have chickens in the barn, and a rooster (a big Rhode Island Red) that crows every am I love wakeing up to his cheery song. When I cook chicken, the ferrets are hanging on the cage waiting for theirs, or they are climbing up my leg, the cat is eying me without blinking, waiting for his, all three dogs are sitting around, incase the pot leaps off of the stove, and they want to lick the pan after I take the chicken out. To be acceptable, the chicken has to be warm for the ferrets and blended to smooth, for the cat, in pieces, and the dogs will take all they can get. I buy it on sale, cook it for everyone, and me, I just have a salad. I always have kittens in the spring, and when the rooster is roaming about the farm, the kittens stalk him. They are a hoot as they hide behind clumps of grass, bushes, whatever. He puts up with just so much, then he bops them on the head. Until they learn better, all my kittens have a round scab on their foreheads. To my knowledge, Rusty the rooster has never lost a feather. Marilyn and the gang at Ledoux Hospice. [Posted in FML issue 5127]