Eagleton School Adds Chickens To Animal Therapy Program

Learning from an unlikely source: Chickens have come to Eagleton!

Animal therapy has been proven to increase self-esteem, self-discipline, communication skills, and positive behaviors. At Eagleton School, students not only learn to care for another living being by working with horses in the Equine Therapy program, but also by caring for and by having complete responsibility for our chickens. Yes, that's right... chickens!

Some of you may not know this, but chickens are generally obedient and are often recommended as good pets around children. Some people find chickens behavior entertaining and educational which makes them ideal to join the Eagleton team. During this past year, students have been participating in the daily routine and caring process for our new feathery friends. Students learn basic skills such as grooming, feeding, egg laying maintenance, and pen management for all the chickens. Along with learning the value of positive communication skills and teaching that rules and regulations are necessary for the well-being and growth of themselves and their chicken friends.

Before bringing this new animal to our program, the Directors learned that in the wild, chickens often scratch at the soil of the land to search for seeds, insects, and even larger animals. If any of you have ever been to the Berkshires, you would know that tics can be an issue for people and the chickens have helped our campus by feasting on the tics. This inevitably has decreased the risk of finding them on campus which has created a safer environment for all if us in a natural manner.

Through the Horse Program, Seed-to-Harvest Organic Gardening Program, and now the work with chickens, students at Eagleton School learn to nurture healthy relationships. The staff work with the students to build skills that they will utilize for the rest of their lives based on boundaries, respect, empathy and understanding. Caring and working with the chickens are benefits that are earned through hard work and dedication. They will learn the teamwork, camaraderie, responsibilities, and the joys that come from loving, and being loved by, a chicken. Ultimately, students will begin to see and understand that, as in all aspects of life, they truly reap what they sow.

Eagleton School is a private year-round residential, psycho-educational treatment facility for boys and young men ages nine to twenty-two years, with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Development Disorder, Communication and Cognitive Delays, Behavioral Disorders, Emotional Disorders, and Learning Disabilities.