I don't know all of the ins and outs of his setup. I do know that he is on about 20 acres and keeps only roosters. He likes to watch them and they keep his bug population down. He's a nice guy but we don't interact regularly.I'll be fascinated to hear it- I knew you were referring to the guy down the street so who knows exactly how he keeps his birds? I'm still fascinated with the concept, although my husband is saying he wants at least one egg every once in a while! lol