Chicken cottage or stone mansion, it doesn't matter to your chooks

Former Tory MP Sir Peter Viggers infamously claimed £1,645 on parliamentary expense to build a house for the ducks at his constituency home, but Crispin Odey has gone one better or, in fact, several times better.

The hedge-fund boss has engaged Christopher Smallwood Architects to create a Palladian-style chicken house for his flock. The cost of the stone to be used in the building alone is £130,000.

Is such largess necessary for your flock, though? Does a chicken really appreciate an Ionic column? We sought the advice of chairmen of The Poultry Club of Great Britain, David Sill: "It seems to be more about architecture than the chickens but it certainly has all the characteristics of a good house: there is enough space; plenty of fresh air and light; and it looks to be pretty fox and rat-proof too" says Sill. "Oh, and he won't have to worry about noise from the cockerels with those walls."