Easter is around the corner and we are getting excited to host some new residents!
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
It is the first day of spring and we are all getting excited about the new residents coming to St Luke’s Hospital Soon!
Sunshine, warmer weather? That means that Easter must be fast approaching. At St Luke’s, it’s going to be a very exciting and quite different experience this year.
The residents and patients will be experiencing new life in a very hands-on way. The team has arranged for 10 hen eggs to be brought to St Luke's at the end of March. These eggs will be incubated and hatched under the care and support of the team. The chicks are part of a wider initiative, to bring nature into the lives of older people who have not experienced looking after animals for many years, if ever at all.
The chicks will be staying at St Luke’s for a period of ten days. They may be adopted by some of the team to grow into rare breed laying hens, or they will return to their breeder to live their lives as laying hens on a free-range farm.
The team at St Luke’s have worked hard with Incredible Eggs, the company who are providing the experience, to make sure that the welfare of the chicks and the residents of the nursing home will be ensured during the time the chicks will be at the home.
The residents, patients and staff will have the opportunity to watch chicks hatching, seeing their first steps and have carefully supervised sessions where the chicks can be gently held. Everyone will be able to learn about the chick’s habits and see how they learn to feed and live in a little brood. In return, based on the experience and feedback from other care homes that have enjoyed their own chick hatchings, we hope that residents’ wellbeing is enhanced and memories rekindled, as well as being a point for discussion and connection. Several residents have experienced life on the farm in their earlier years, so this will be a welcome initiative at St Luke’s.
“We are really excited to welcome the chicks to St Luke’s Hospital this March. Having the opportunity to see them hatch and grow will be a very special experience for us all. We are now counting the days off until their arrival,” commented Louise Kenworthy, Activities Co-ordinator.
The eggs and their incubator, chick housing and food will be arriving at St Luke’s on Tuesday 31st March and will staying for a period of ten days, before heading off to pastures new and their final homes.
