video transcript

Chickens are in charge at "Fowlty Towers" - so says owner, Julie Smith. She says the business evolved from a real need in her Kent community. SOUNDBITE: Julie Smith, owner of chicken hotel, saying (English): "A lot of people asked what they would do when they went on holiday with the hens, so I started looking after them as a favour and then I thought well it might be a bit of a business and we'll try and get them sorted." Smith's chicken hotel is five-feather poultry luxury. The girls enjoy fresh vegetables daily and some even get to go out for a treat. Smith, who has 13 hens of her own, says unless she's told otherwise, guest hens' eggs are kept until their owners' return. The chickens are housed in pens and they can also roam free in the fox-proof garden. SOUNDBITE: Julie Smith, owner of chicken hotel, saying (English): "Of course the best place for any animal including hens would be in their own home, that's what they're used to, but I try and offer them service where they get as good as home." And of course no cockerels are allowed into this girls-only spa … just cluck for service, dear!