There are some very happy sounding chickens in the old kitchen garden at Newhailes House and they must have an enjoyable life with swings of various sorts, ramps and things to climb. The Scots Grey is rare and one of only two remaining breeds of native domestic chickens in Scotland.
Nearby is a lectern style doocot (dovecote) which was built to keep pigeons and doves to provide meat and eggs throughout the year and their droppings for fertiliser..  It has recently been restored with its 614 stone nesting boxes and records state that there was a doocot in 1707.