Elderly men in England are less lonely these days –– and it’s all thanks to some chicks.
It all started in 2012 when one of the men living at a dementia care center kept telling the staff he missed his girls. When they realized the girls were actually hens he used to raise, one of the nurses asked Douglas Hunter, the director of Equal Arts, a charity that provides creative projects for older people, if he could bring in some chickens for the patients.
“A couple hundred quid” later and Equal Arts brought six new hens and a secondhand henhouse into the facility.
“Our main reservation was whether the staff would be annoyed by them, and wouldn’t have time to look after them,” says Hunter.
But the result was the complete opposite. The staff and the patients loved caring for the animals and the program was such a success, Equal Arts received funding to expand HenPower to eight pilot locations that ranged from assisted living facilities to care homes.
One of those location is Wood Green, an assisted living facility in Gateshead, Newcastle. The seventy two residents currently have 13 hens and 15 chicks they personally care for, giving them an alternative to being by themselves.
“Me and the wife used to go everywhere together, but when she died 10 years ago she left me on my own,” says Thomas ‘Ossie’ Cresswell, one of the residents who confessed he kept mostly to himself and was very lonely before the animals arrived. “My life has been a lot fuller since we’ve had these hens. I think I’d be lost without them.”
The program is open to women and men but has shown to decrease loneliness and depression in males especially since they tend to not socialize as much as women. Residents like Cresswell not only clean the coups, feed, water and bathe the chickens but also participate in hen-related activities like art, singing and dancing — and not just the chicken dance.
“You’d be surprised how many chicken-related songs there are, especially 1930s jazz,” Hunter says.
To be involved with HenPower, seniors don’t even have to live in one of the programs’ locations. The participants take the hens for road trips to schools and other care homes where people can interact with their beloved birds. Others like, Tommy Appleby, go to the chickens.
“I was completely at a loss; I was stranded,” says the 89-year old who was left by himself after his wife died five and a half years ago. He met a man involved in HenPower at the cemetery and since he lived three miles away from a facility participating in it, started attending. “Taking part was difficult at first. Now I love the other fellows – they really know hens.”
A recent study by the University of Northumbria showed that all males involved with HenPower showed improved wellbeing and decreased loneliness and depression. The dementia care center where it all started showed a decrease in violent behavior of 50 percent and antipsychotic drug use was also significantly reduced.
Perhaps the most heart warming part of this story, however, is the project leader’s recollection of how the seniors at Wood Green reacted to seeing new chicks hatch right before their eyes.
“We were all in the lounge, the incubator was on the bar and they were all hugging each other as the eggs hatched – it was genuinely emotional,” said Jos Forester-Melville, the HenPower project leader. “Everyone had tears in their eyes. Owen was in there with his video camera like it was his grandchildren at a school play.”
We already knew chickens were awesome and made for excellent therapeutic animals but if anyone needed a reminder, this program is giving them just that.
It all started in 2012 when one of the men living at a dementia care center kept telling the staff he missed his girls. When they realized the girls were actually hens he used to raise, one of the nurses asked Douglas Hunter, the director of Equal Arts, a charity that provides creative projects for older people, if he could bring in some chickens for the patients.
“A couple hundred quid” later and Equal Arts brought six new hens and a secondhand henhouse into the facility.
“Our main reservation was whether the staff would be annoyed by them, and wouldn’t have time to look after them,” says Hunter.
But the result was the complete opposite. The staff and the patients loved caring for the animals and the program was such a success, Equal Arts received funding to expand HenPower to eight pilot locations that ranged from assisted living facilities to care homes.
One of those location is Wood Green, an assisted living facility in Gateshead, Newcastle. The seventy two residents currently have 13 hens and 15 chicks they personally care for, giving them an alternative to being by themselves.
“Me and the wife used to go everywhere together, but when she died 10 years ago she left me on my own,” says Thomas ‘Ossie’ Cresswell, one of the residents who confessed he kept mostly to himself and was very lonely before the animals arrived. “My life has been a lot fuller since we’ve had these hens. I think I’d be lost without them.”
The program is open to women and men but has shown to decrease loneliness and depression in males especially since they tend to not socialize as much as women. Residents like Cresswell not only clean the coups, feed, water and bathe the chickens but also participate in hen-related activities like art, singing and dancing — and not just the chicken dance.
“You’d be surprised how many chicken-related songs there are, especially 1930s jazz,” Hunter says.
To be involved with HenPower, seniors don’t even have to live in one of the programs’ locations. The participants take the hens for road trips to schools and other care homes where people can interact with their beloved birds. Others like, Tommy Appleby, go to the chickens.
“I was completely at a loss; I was stranded,” says the 89-year old who was left by himself after his wife died five and a half years ago. He met a man involved in HenPower at the cemetery and since he lived three miles away from a facility participating in it, started attending. “Taking part was difficult at first. Now I love the other fellows – they really know hens.”
A recent study by the University of Northumbria showed that all males involved with HenPower showed improved wellbeing and decreased loneliness and depression. The dementia care center where it all started showed a decrease in violent behavior of 50 percent and antipsychotic drug use was also significantly reduced.
Perhaps the most heart warming part of this story, however, is the project leader’s recollection of how the seniors at Wood Green reacted to seeing new chicks hatch right before their eyes.
“We were all in the lounge, the incubator was on the bar and they were all hugging each other as the eggs hatched – it was genuinely emotional,” said Jos Forester-Melville, the HenPower project leader. “Everyone had tears in their eyes. Owen was in there with his video camera like it was his grandchildren at a school play.”
We already knew chickens were awesome and made for excellent therapeutic animals but if anyone needed a reminder, this program is giving them just that.
