At the beginning of April, residents and staff at Cheddle Lodge were delighted to welcome five duck eggs. A few days later, the eggs hatched into our beautiful little ducklings – Daisy, Donald, Daffy, Candy and Teddington.
Why keep ducks in a care home? Well, there’s a method in all the quackness (sorry, couldn’t resist). Having the ducks at Cheddle will benefit our residents in the following ways:
- Reduces stress, anxiety and depression
- Reduces loneliness and isolation
- Improves mood and wellbeing, and promotes laughter
- Improves sleeping patterns
- Stimulates conversations and social interactions, encouraging residents to express their feelings
- Provides cognitive stimulation
- Provides new experiences and learning opportunities
- Gives a sense of purpose
- Encourages movement and physical activity
- Improves motor skills
- Lowers blood pressure and improves overall cardiovascular health
- Promotes laughter and a better sleeping pattern
- Encourages independence
Animal therapy also helps to support residents with Dementia to stay engaged and involved, and the animals are a source of love and laughter.
Animal therapy can aid the transition of residents into a new home by helping them to build trust and new relationships with staff.
Who’d have thought that five small ducklings could bring so much joy to our residents. Keep an eye on our duckling blog (coming soon) and social media for regular updates. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
