Talk about silliness!! We have 2 chooks and they are definitely "organised" (as they said in "Chicken run"") Our two - who we let out every night to damage the flower beds - have taken to squawking out side the bedroom window when they reckon they want breakfast. Sometimes they try to crow like a rooster.
They clean up the cat's food while she just looks on, and before we lost our beautiful labrador, she would let them eat her food too!!
Yes, they are characters all right, but $1800??? oh no. When they dont lay I frequently shout at them that their necks are in danger.
How have they retaliated?? By laying in the bushes. Yesterday my wife found 18 eggs in a nest. AAAAGGGGHHHHH