Small and mean chickens do we hear? (6)
I believe the answer is:
paltry
'small and mean' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'chickens do we hear?' is the wordplay.
'chickens' becomes 'poultry' (I've seen this before).
'do we hear?' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'poultry' is a homophone of 'PALTRY'.
(Other definitions for paltry that I've seen before include "Minor, insignificant" , "Petty - worthless" , "Trivial, comtemptible" , "Meagre; petty, trivial" , "Meagre, mean" .)