Kathy, Berta, Susi, and Goldie Cheer up the Elderly – and Deliver Eggs as Well

As a social worker at Katharina-von-Bora-Haus, an old people’s home in Bochum/Germany, I asked myself a few months ago: How can we cheer up our inhabitants in times of coronavirus restrictions, when they receive few visits from their families and suffer from boredom.

Somehow, I got the idea to rent four chickens from a farmer in the area: Now the hens live in a mobile barn and an outdoor enclosure in our garden – and provide the greatest joy and entertainment for our elderly people. They named them Katharina, Berta, Susi, and Goldie, feed them with grains, cooked rice, pasta, or melon, collect the eggs and note their weight every day in a diary.

Due to the cackling chicken, the ladies and gentlemen get together every afternoon for a few hours, chat and develop new friendships. Some of them even forget their rollator walking aid when standing up spontaneously to feed their feathered friends. And they really enjoy their delicious Sunday breakfast with fresh eggs!