Local care homes prove that the chicken comes before the egg

Five care homes across Rochdale have each taken delivery of five chicks as part of a new initiative designed to help tackle loneliness and depression in older people.

The project is being managed by Greater-Manchester based charity, Crossroads Together, which supports hundreds of families across the area by offering practical care and support in the home; this can be from an hour to an overnight, weekends or a full week’s support. 

The Social Hen Homes Project is intended to bring together older people living in care home settings in Rochdale to combat loneliness and depression to gain a sense of purpose, being part of something worthwhile whilst improving wellbeing and social interaction through the keeping of hens.

 

 

Residents will be involved with feeding and caring for the hens as well as collecting eggs once the hens are old enough to start laying. Each of the five care homes has been provided with an enclosure for their hens along with enough feed, hay and equipment to last a year.

Paul Parlby, chief executive at Crossroads Together, said: “We have all seen the news stories about the numbers of older people who go for weeks without seeing anyone, and I have been delighted to see so many initiatives put in place locally in recent years to try and tackle social isolation. These schemes often focus on those living in the community however, but there is a growing recognition that older people in residential care also demonstrate worrying levels of loneliness.

 

 

“We are hopeful that introducing hens to care homes will be catalyst to help bring residents together to create strong communities. This is the first time a scheme like this has been put in place in Greater Manchester, and we are really excited to watch the chicks grow and see how the residents enjoy caring for them.”

Crossroads Together has received funding for the project from Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group as part of its Strengthening Communities Grant scheme.

Francesca Hawley, manager of Rosemary Care Home in Milnrow, Rochdale, added: “We are so pleased with how the chicks are settling in. It is brilliant to see our residents getting involved with their care and taking such an interest in how they are getting on each day.

"We pride ourselves on creating a community at Rosemary, and it has been wonderful to how engaged our residents have been with the chicks since they arrived. We can’t wait to collect our first eggs.”

The Social Hen Homes Project will be delivered in partnership with students and teachers from Hopwood Hall College animal management facility. The college will help support the project lead and will be on hand for on-going advice and to support the care homes with caring for their hens.