Silky hens or rabbits Bob and Bobek. At the Clementas home in Mlékovice, not far from Prague, these pets bring smiles to the faces of old people who have short-term memory problems due to advanced Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. There were even chicks born there recently, so the staff will have to enlarge the chicken coop. Experiences with farming therapy are the content of the next part of the irregular series Animal Doctors.
Thanks to chickens or rabbits, old people remember their childhood or youth
| Video: Diary/Andrea Cerqueirová
Ninety-three-year-old Gréta, who is a client of the Clementas home for the elderly in the Central Bohemian village of Mlékovice, is standing by the hen house for silk hens. After opening the gate, he gives them some dandelion leaves. Her eyes light up and she remembers the time of unripe raspberries, when her family used to have them too hen.
She is far from the only one. “The people who live here mostly had pets, so they are happy to have them here too,” says activation worker Michaela Benešová. The home is mainly inhabited by people with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, for which she and others are preparing a program that will occupy them and help them at the same time.
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According to Benešová, therapy based on contact with animals is the most significant. “It also helps people who otherwise don’t want to participate in anything. The animals put a smile on their faces. They immediately start talking,” he says.
Some go to the chicken coop alone, others in an organized manner. Someone goes out for a walk and checks the chickens or picks them fresh eggs.
The director of the home, Andrey Faltysová, points out that the very presence of hens in the garden of the complex helps. “Some clients even get involved in taking care of them. That is, to changing the water, feeding or letting it out to pasture,” he outlines.
With chickens and in the rooms
The workers move the chicken coop from time to time so that the silkworms always have plenty of grass available. “And since our chicks were born, we will also increase it,” informs Benešová. They bring chickens to the rooms of people who cannot come themselves due to their health condition individual therapy. People talk to them, caress them, give them kisses.
It will create a good mood and memories for them. “I remember one client whom I caught with the chickens, and he told me with emotion in his eyes that every time he looks at them, he remembers how he spent the holidays with his grandmother as a child,” says Faltysová.
Dolphin therapy also helps children with autism:
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Trying to recall stories simultaneously trains the memory. “This is very important for clients with dementia, because it helps, among other things, to maintain their orientation – where I am, what time it is, what day it is, etc.,” explains the director.
And how did the idea for breeding silkworms come about? “It came naturally. Many of our clients had gardens at home and kept pets. The specific choice for hens was made because they are not as demanding of care as other pets. And on top of that, we read that the old Bohemian silkworm breed is not sloppy and is contact-friendly,” explains the director.
Eggs and chick in the chicken coopSource: Diary/Andrea Cerqueirová
Therapy based on direct contact with domestic animals is called farming therapy. And what else are they used for, besides evoking fond memories? “If the clients help with the care of the chickens, they have a responsible task and in their own eyes are ‘useful to someone else.’ They often feel that they are ‘just a nuisance’,” says Faltysová.
Canistherapy helps children and adults:
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When walking to the chickens and taking care of them, people are moving again, they have motivation and a goal. “Movement is important for maintaining one’s own mobility and self-sufficiency. In this way, there is a natural stretching and strengthening of the muscles, stability training, and the practice of fine motor skills of the palms and hands,” he notes.
According to her, this will, for example, help the client to eat and drink by himself, because he will hold the mug or cutlery. She added that stroking chickens works in the same way, when again the palms and hands stretch naturally, warming up from the feathers and getting blood. Silkworms have fine feathers similar to animal fur.
Rabbits, a cat and a dog
But hens are not the only animals raised in Mlékovice. For example, cats also live in the area and there is a cage inside the home with rabbits Bob and Bobka. They are also used for therapies. The workers go with them to people who caress them, kiss them and talk to them. They also evoke memories of childhood or youth in them.
Bob and Bobek are rabbit therapistsSource: Diary/Andrea Cerqueirová
Each client, if he is able to take the animal outside and take care of it, can also bring his pet, with whom he was used to living until then, to his home. Currently, the Yorkshire terrier Kim also lives in the home. His mistress is Mrs. Hana. “I’ve had it for about nine years,” he confides. She has been with him in a separate room in Mlékovice for less than a year. It also brings pleasure to other people, who often caress it.
Farming therapy
Therapy takes place through work in direct contact with animals, but it is also the whole process of treating and breeding animals of various species and breeds.
