After five weeks of incubating fertilized chicken eggs, Waterloo Heights residents recently welcomed four fluffy baby chicks to their home.
In August, Waterloo Heights activity director Jacqui Metzloff ordered the eggs from Rent the Chicken/Hatch the Chicken, a farm that has created in-home educational programs for seniors communities, schools and libraries.
Residents got to experience the entire process of incubating eggs, hatching chicks and watching them grow – all while enjoying the companionship, laughter and even music the birds brought them.
When the eggs hatched, three yellow chicks and one black-and-brown chick popped out.
The kit Waterloo Heights received included the fertilized eggs, an incubator, a brooder, chicken feed and a cage to keep the chickens in once hatched.
After they hatched, the chicks were adopted by other farms.
“From the time we started incubating the eggs until the time the hatched chickens returned home before adoption, five weeks passed,” Jacqui tells S&R Today. “The chickens were noticeably bigger every day, and each one had their own personality. They were very friendly and curious and didn’t mind being picked up or petted.”
Amazingly, the chicks also “loved” listening to music, Jacqui adds.
“We first noticed their love of music during a singalong session one afternoon when the chicks were only about six days old,” she says. “As the residents sang, so too did the chicks, and they would quiet down when the music and singing stopped.”
One day, Jacqui brought a large animal pen to Waterloo Heights so the chickens could run around freely for an hour under careful supervision, giving residents a better chance to watch them.
Residents enjoyed watching the chickens and talking to them, she says. A naming contest for the four chicks resulted in residents voting to call them Matilda, Chicklet, Nugget and Ringo.
Given the success of the program, Jacqui says next year she hopes to bring Hatch the Chicken’s duck-egg option to residents.
She adds this is an excellent opportunity to create an engaging program for other seniors living or long-term care communities.
“I highly recommend this program to other seniors’ homes,” she says.
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