Looking for a quote/proverb about hens in the dooryard

I read a really neat saying about hens in the dooryard/houseyard being a the sign of a happy home, or something along those lines, and can't find it now anywhere on the whole interwebs. I'd swear it was an Irish saying, but every time I put in different search word combinations I get the same sayings about heavy hens and whistling women.

Do any fellow chicken-keepers have a clue?