It’s official: we’ve realized that our little chicken adores the camera - she may be tearful, tired or temperamental - but as soon as we take out the digital camera - she strikes a pose.

She’s efficiently learned to drink water from a glass or bottle. And she continues to explore new cuisine. In Rome, her new favourite vegetable was zucchini - it didn’t matter whether it was grilled, boiled or fried.

Our chicken has also discovered animals - and has even managed to “pet” one or two “Roman” good-natured poodles - so we can only image what she’ll do to our orange tabby Alistair when we return home.

Here are a handful of our favourite photos to date - enjoy!