Does rock music make chickens shake a tail-feather?

And does poultry perk up with a spot of jazz or pop?

Anecdotal evidence suggests chickens thrive when farmers play music to them.

Now the National Farmers' Union aims to test out the theory.

It has joined forces with Dr Bryan Jones, of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh - where Dolly the cloned sheep was created.

Poultry farmers will receive a questionnaire asking them to look out for changes in their birds' behaviour when they listen to various types of music.

The NFU wants to find out whether farmers feel that music makes poultry more relaxed, gain weight and lay more eggs.

Deputy president Tony Pexton said: "For many years, farmers have claimed beneficial effects through playing music to their chickens.

"We hope, together with the Roslin Institute, to find out once and for all if there is any substance in the anecdotal evidence."

The Evening Press contacted E G Wardell's turkey farm in Park Lane, Pickering, which rears 5,000 birds every 20 weeks, to find out what staff there thought of the power of music.

A spokeswoman there said company boss Arthur Wardell often had a radio playing, and added: "I think it probably does help to calm the birds down."

Asked whether he had tried playing pop music to his birds, Connaught French, of French Farms (Haxby) Ltd, said: "Certainly not, I don't even listen to it in the house."

But he said toy footballs were provided for birds at his farm in Crossmoor Lane, Haxby.

"Some of the supermarket say that to improve the birds' welfare, we have to give them something to do."

The Evening Press poultry top ten

Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan

There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens - Louis Jordan and the Timpani Five

Chicken Song - Spitting Image

Cold Turkey - John Lennon

Pickin' A Chicken - Eve Boswell

Little Red Rooster - The Rolling Stones

'85 anything - Chicken Shack

Poultry In Motion - Johnny Tillotson

The Ballad of John and Yolk-o - John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Wide Eyed and Egg-less - Andy Fairweather-Low

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