Chickens as therapy animals?

[conny63malies]

I was wondering if it is possible to have a chicken certified as a therapy animal.I mean i would like to use it to go to schools with special needs children and long term care centers for old and handicapped people(and other places i cant think off the bet)
I heard of other kind of farm animals doing it . Where should i start searching? I think that my self blue dutch banty shows real potential.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

A lot of people I know have Silkies as therapy animals...

 

[conny63malies]

Are they certified? How would i do that?

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

That part I couldn't tell ya.... they are certified, I just dont know how they go about doing it.

 

[Wifezilla]

I don't see why not. You may have to diaper it though if you took it to a nursing home....fear of bacteria, people with suppressed immune systems. etc...

I would not use a duck as a therapy animal...LOL

My autistic son is terrified of the ducks. He is 6'3" tall and 250lbs, but he is freaked out by the ducklings. He worries when they cry, but he just tells me... "Mommy, JJ, Bungie" but he wont go near them

 

[conny63malies]

Quote:
The chick i am refering to will cuddle right down when held and puts her head down and closes its eyes when cuddeled. I figure a lot of old people would enjoy them and tell stories of when they were younger and had chickens. I had a older gentleman come by with his wife who had alzeimer, she loved feeding the ducks in my yard. I think he actually bought her some muscovies for the yard.

 

[Wifezilla]

That is awesome. Some animals have great personalities for things like this.

 

[hoosier]

Quote:
I have often thought about this.
We took a beagle to a nursing home to visit my mom, and a man that had had a stroke stroked her head and tried to talk. It was the first time he had tried to speak since his stroke. My mother was leaving, but we promised to take her back (the beagle), but she was hit by a car the following week. [we had never seen go towards the road before]
I think it would be great for a lot of the older folks.

 

[Chickenmaven]

DD & I are going to visit a special ed class after Easter. Might try to get into a nursinghome after that. I think that chickens hold a place in the hearts of alot of our elders. Our youth have no clue where food comes from. These are two great reasons to bring chickens to the public.

 

[SeramaLife]

I brought some chicks to visit my grandmother once. everyone there loved it.