I'm reminded of a song on a tape we had when I was a kid all about how this chicken wouldn't lay eggs so they'd try various things - "poured hot water up and down her legs/and the little chicken cried and the little chicken begged/and that gosh-darned chicken laid a hard-boiled egg".
About as close to chickens as I like to get is Corin's picture there.
And once again I'm showing my age here.
I'm old enough to remember getting baby chicks for Easter. You'd buy them at the dime store and they'd dyed them Easter colors.
My Mom says they didn't live long. But I'm fairly certain a couple ended up in grandpa's chicken coop.