Well they make me feel calm.
Everyone's got a cat or a dog or a bird.
But having a chook is a bit different, isn't it.
I get a lot of company from these birds.
Hear that?
HenPower is a program that has been built
around chook keeping.
It's really about combating social isolation and lonliness
for older people.
My name is Karn Nelson.
I'm director of research at The Whiddon Group.
We run about 19 aged care homes in NSW.
Our research shows that levels of
social isolation and lonliness amongst older Australians
are at about 40%,
which compares with about 10%
if you ask the general population in Australia.
My name is Aubrey Lavis,
and in front of me here is Priscilla.
I don't nurse her or carry her around.
she sits in the basket and I push her around.
Oh, she's really cunning.
If she can get away with something, she'll try.
She likes to sleep when she gets in the basket.
Feather out a place and she has a go at it.
I don't think anyone had really expected
that you could have a hen as a pet.
And yet what we found is if you rear them correctly,
and get them very used to handling,
they are actually fantastic pets.
I don't know what we'd do if it wasn't for these little birds
This is Verlie Ford here,
I'm 91 years of age.
I have little Wally here with me.
She keeps me company.
I do think it's a good thing.
especially for people like myself.
You need company.
I find it very relaxing.
Other people mightn't,
but I do.
i don't feel stressed
and I think it's half the treatment.
From what we've seen,
HenPower is very effective
around helping depression,
the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Particularly for our residents with dementia.
For many people with dementia,
there is often this locked in feeling where
they can't actually express themselves.
or they find it difficult to express their emotions.
It's brought a lot more life
and a lot more laughing
and a lot more opportunities to joke
and to tease each other,
and things that we all take for granted.
What was that?
That was this one, having a little hymn.
If you have dementia is might not be so easy.
One lady who makes the noise of a rooster
and that's sort of her way of being funny
and expressing her personality.
They are pets,
but they're all females.
There's no roosters here.
Oh, there's a few roosters here but I'm not one.
Animals work really well in therapy
for a number of different reasons.
There's some physiological reasons,
and also social and interpersonal reasons.
Hi, my name is Melanie Jones, and I'm a psychologist.
and I've spent the last ten years or so
looking at the bond between humans and animals.
Just with that nice smooth gentle feeling
under your fingers.
One of the main physiological benefits
of being around animals,
we get an oxytocin hit
or an oxytocin rush,
that's our feel good or bonding hormone,
and it turn that drives down our stress response.
and our stress physiology.
So when you're not stressed you deal with pain better.
So those patients who maybe have lower mobility
are more motivated to get out and walk.
Holy hell, there's eggs here!
There's two here.
People are more likely to talk about the animals,
but they're also more likely to talk to each other
in the presence of animals.
Add to that the fact that hens are outdoor,
and so you're getting people outside
and in to nature and we also think
that's going to have a really beneficial effect.
i find when you have these chickens
you make friends with the other people.
They're not for everybody.
I wouldn't give it up for the world.
Currently we're trying it in four services
and it's a six month trial.
On the basis of what we've seen so far,
it just looks so positive
and such a no brainer
really
that we're going to roll it out
across all of our care homes.
The more you look after them
the more they fit in.
They can be annoying at times
especially when they don't do what you tell them.
When all else fails
you can always come back to the birds.
Does that sound stupid to you?
You tell them, dear.