Baby chicks bring joy to Cornwallis Court residents

Above: Residents John Bluett and Marion Turner meet the newly hatched chicks.

To mark National Pet Month and Easter in April, residents at Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds, recently started a Chick Hatching Programme with Incredible Eggs, an ethical provider of high-welfare hatching kits throughout England and Scotland. Each farm is family run with many years of small-scale poultry keeping/breeding experience, and Incredible Eggs focuses on education, animal welfare, safeguarding biodiversity, welfare conservation and supporting charities and social enterprise.

Residents at Cornwallis Court, which supports older people with residential care, nursing care and residential dementia support, received two incubators containing 15 eggs, which they had to nurture. Eventually, after much anticipation, they were able to watch the baby chicks hatch from their eggs. The residents were delighted to meet the affectionate animals, who were happy to be petted and stroked.

Taking part in this activity, resident Jan Wright said:

One of the chicks came up really close to me and perched on my chest. It was so enjoyable to spend time with them and it brought back great memories.

Resident Jan Wright smiles fondly as a baby chick perches on her chest at Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Emma Gibson, Cornwallis Court’s Activities Coordinator, said:

I did a sponsored walk last year, trekking 75 miles over four days around the Isle of Wight and raised £650, which we used to hire two egg hatching sets for our residents.

The benefits of spending time with animals for older people are immense. Research has shown that having something to pet or touch can result in lower blood pressure, better heart rate and reduced stress. Pets can provide emotional stability during stressful situations, helping to reduce anxiety and depression. Emma added:

There was a real buzz around the Home and our residents and staff had so much fun caring for the chicks, watching them hatch and grow.

It also prompted stories from residents who had fond memories of keeping chickens when they were growing up.

Cute baby chicks tweeting shortly after hatching at Cornwallis Court.

Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds, is run by RMBI Care Co., part of the Masonic Charitable Foundation. RMBI Care Co. is investing £16m to build a new care home on the site of the current Home, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, with works starting in April 2024.

[Summary: To mark National Pet Month and Easter, residents at Cornwallis Court, in Bury St Edmunds, received an incubator of 15 eggs from Living Eggs, which they had to nurture. They were delighted to meet the affectionate chicks, who were happy to be petted and stroked. Emma Gibson, Cornwallis Court’s Activities Coordinator, did a sponsored walk last year, trekking 75 miles over four days around the Isle of Wight, and raised £650. They used the raised funds to hire two egg hatching sets for their residents.]