There was great excitement at Heathlands Village with cries of “Mazeltov!”, (Congratulations!), heard all around, following the recent safe arrival of 10 newborns – 2 boys and 8 girls.
Not quite what you’d expect at a care home for older people? That’s understandable – but this is all part of a living eggs experience which delighted our residents.
The temporary occupants arrived in their shells on Monday 10 May and were housed in the home’s Joy Cainer Activity Centre.
By the Tuesday afternoon the first had hatched, followed over the day, by its brothers and sisters, under the watchful gaze of excited residents keeping vigil by the incubator.
Deputy Centre Manager Nick Burgess said,
“Residents were fascinated to see them coming out of their shells and then change in appearance over a very short time. They’ve been a big topic of discussion and are irresistibly cute. Not everyone has wanted to actually hold them but they have loved getting close, talking to them and stroking them.”
Following their stay at Heathlands Village the chicks have been re-homed on a farm in Whitefield with two alpacas and a family of ducks.