Hen Therapy

Kids and hens helping each other heal. Photograph by Signe Langford

by Signe Langford

If you’ve spent any amount of time online, no doubt you’ve seen the adorable videos of fluffy hens visiting seniors’ homes in the UK and Australia. If you haven’t; do, you’ll be glad you did!

Then there’s Little Miss Sunshine. No, not the movie, but rather, the genius chicken from down under; and Jokgu the musical hen from America’s Got Talent; she’ll make you reconsider your menu choices tonight.

Miss Vicky was my most eager gardening assistant and a real snuggler too. 

Photograph by Donna Griffith.

Baby came to me from another backyard coop; she would have spent every hour of every day

 in my arms if I'd let her! Photograph by Donna Griffith.

Most folks don’t give a second thought to the inner life of a chicken. But, if you’ve spent some one-on-one time getting to know them, they you know there is so much more going on than meets the eye. Yes, we eat them, and yes, they have personalities, intelligence, and a social life. They can do us humans good – beyond supplying us with eggs and meat.

It was at Cobble Hills Farm Sanctuary, just outside Stratford, Ontario, where I began learning about the good hens can do. Author and adoption advocate, Christen Doidge Shepherd, was in the business of rescuing ‘spent hens’ from local egg factory farms and mentoring troubled kids from two nearby group homes. Her eureka moment came when she put the two together – broken, unwanted hens and throw-away kids – to look after each other on her farm. That’s right, look after each other.

A "spent hen"; a throw away of the industrial egg business. Photograph by Signe Langford

Discarded egg layers feel a loving touch for the first time. Photograph by Signe Langford

Fast friends! Photograph by Signe Langford

Christen lets each kid pick a hen of their own to care for, starting with a much needed nail trimming for these cage-bound hens. “It’s incredible to see the gentleness these kids show to their hens; to see them so gently handling them and giving them pedicures. It’s just lovely.” Christen just beams when she tells me this. And this is huge. These are kids who have suffered every manner of neglect and abuse. Love and gentleness isn’t something they know or express with people very often, if at all. But it’s different with the hens. Christen has seen the transformation first hand; “People think these kids are lost, but they’re not, they just need the chance to show how good they really are.” Caring for a little hen that was treated much as they were is the key that unlocks their hurting hearts.

As the days pass, the hens and kids learn to trust each other. The hens get healthy in body and mind, and so do the kids, gaining self-esteem, empathy, and a real sense of accomplishment. These are kids

who have been labeled “aggressive” or “incapable of connection”, but when they lovingly hold a soft, clucking, hen they can trust and make eye contact – perhaps for the first time in their short lives.

Backyard chickens can be just as loving a pet as a dog or cat. Sadly, as a society, we continue to underestimate them. Each little lady I’ve had in my coop has had her own personality, quirks, and food preferences, but they all come running just the same, when they hear the front door.

This post was written by Signe Langford

Signe Langford is a restaurant-chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes. She is a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Life, Canadian Living and Garden Making magazines. In 2105, Signe published her first book Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden- with 100 Recipes. 

Raised in the town of Hudson, Quebec Signe grew up surrounded by an ever changing menagerie of critters, both wild and domestic, and her special affection for all feathered creatures has never flagged. At present, she shares a downtown Toronto Victorian with a tiny flock of laying hens. For more stories and recipes please visit www.signelangford.com