Chicken Therapy

Ok, I'm new here and this is going to sound completely insane to those who have no idea what I'm talking about, but does anyone on here have chickens and do they find them therapeutic?

I have RA and Fibro (diagnosed 12+ years) and 3 years ago, we decided to get chickens. They are layers only and they are more pets than anything else. I have found that on days that I can go sit out in the yard and play with my chickens (yes, believe it or not, they do play), I actually feel better. I've read some articles since, just to see if I'm nuts or if they really do help, and there is actually quite a bit of research going into this. Chickens are being found to be wonderful companion animals and there are even some nursing homes or assisted living facilities that are allowing chickens to come visit and cheer up the clients.

Just had to share that. Hope this helps someone.

Playing and interacting with any animal can be beneficial. I know I did far better before the cat-girls died.

Myself 09 said...
Playing and interacting with any animal can be beneficial. I know I did far better before the cat-girls died.

I'm SO sorry for your loss . I have kitties who I love dearly and I have lost kitties who I have loved dearly.
I know I'm new here and hoping I'm not being rude by asking this (certainly not my intent), have you thought about bringing some new fur babies in to your home? If you did better with kitties.... you know?

We live in an apartment where pets are not allowed. Eventually, when we buy, we will have cats and a dog.

We grew up with chickens, and my sister wanted some terribly, but her husband pointed out, quite sensibly, that their Australian shepherd would give them no peace. Nor the coyotes, nor the bears.

I will point out that if a chicken gets near my mother, she will hit it with her walker. The poor woman lived in Appalachia on a farm during the depression, and spent a lot of time plucking chickens.

Myself 09 said...
We live in an apartment where pets are not allowed. Eventually, when we buy, we will have cats and a dog.

We grew up with chickens, and my sister wanted some terribly, but her husband pointed out, quite sensibly, that their Australian shepherd would give them no peace. Nor the coyotes, nor the bears.

I will point out that if a chicken gets near my mother, she will hit it with her walker. The poor woman lived in Appalachia on a farm during the depression, and spent a lot of time plucking chickens.

Oh, I totally get the issues with the Aussie! I have a 2yo Aussie that I'm about ready to tack to the wall! Lol! He's a rescue. Started out as a foster and well, you know how that goes...So now, we have a 10yo blue heeler mix who is literally my dream dog (adopted her 2 months ago) and the little psycho dog (Aussie) that we started fostering about two weeks after we adopted our senior. Things are a little chaotic, but I keep telling myself "eventually, we will have a breakthrough with this dog!". I really hope so!! If not, you'll be able to find me over in the psych forums! LOL!. Aside from that, I have 3 cats and a bunch of birds. Working on convincing my husband that we need a goat!

Hi, Anish. I'm glad you're enjoying your chickens. I absolutely believe any kind of animal at all can be therapeutic to us, depending on the circumstances. It makes sense - we're all living beings.

We used to have a member here who had always wanted her own flock of chickens! ...but she left before she had them.

Debbie

There's a reason why we have four cats, and why we keep getting kittens when the youngest hits a year old. They're such wonderful distraction and even more so when they're tiny. Three of mine also make wonderful hot water bottles on my ouchies, with the fourth is in training. :) Our third youngest likes to have her paw held while she sleeps and it's oddly comforting for me too.