The perfect pets for children

We all know how great pets can be for children, providing them with another friend as well as teaching them responsibility and the importance of caring for others.

Angus

We might be a bit biased, but we think chickens make better companions than cats and dogs for our little ones. And we’re not the only ones!

Lots of BHWT supporters have sent in pictures and told us stories that illustrate the bonds their children have with their pet hens.

Such as Melanie Hindley, a theatre producer who lives on the Isle of Bute with her husband Charlie and son Angus, seven.

The family first got hens in 2012 and Melanie told us the chickens were particularly beneficial during lockdown when Angus had less interaction with other people.

Melanie says, “Angus is an only child, and during the first lockdown there were a few months where he didn’t see another child, or any other family or friends, all the playgrounds were closed, he didn’t go to school or even to any shops. His whole world consisted solely of our garden and our house…. and his girls.

“We often found Angus in the coop with the chooks or just wandering around the garden with them, often with his favourite, Barbara, tucked under his arm. All of us struggled with home schooling and the unknown of the pandemic but the hens provided lots of interest and funny moments amid anxiety, stress and frustration.”