Aware that they may attract some criticism for this departure, members of Paulo's Circus are keen to stress that it won't be lions, tigers or chimps performing in the ring - but a couple of farmyard hens.

The new act is the idea of Kakehole, a clown who has been travelling with the troupe for some years. He said he had been looking for ways to improve his act when all of a sudden inspiration hit him.

"Actually inspiration pecked me," he said. "I was having one of those deep and thoughtful moments when my pet hen Yolkie, who was sitting on my head at the time, gave me a sharp peck. I think she was trying to tell me something - and it suddenly struck me that she might be a great addition to my act."

Yolkie made her debut in Newquay last week in a routine that sees Kakehole causing chaos by splattering eggs all over the audience in his attempt to cook an omelette. He then produces his feathered friend from a large cooking pot and dances around the ring with the hen perched on his head.