According to The Local, the federal statistics office said that in 2012, the number of chickens was up five per cent compared to 2011, rising to close to ten million.

By comparison, Switzerland’s population is around eight million.

One-fourth of the 9.88 million chickens were used for egg-laying and breeding, according to the statistics report.

However, the country's chickens constitute only about 50 per cent of the domestic market for eggs and poultry, while the remaining 50 per cent come in from imports.