The clients at Big Sandy Activities received a special gift this Easter weekend. The clients received 21 baby chicks and a duckling as pets. Heather Pleninger, the Executive Director at BSA, explained the gift. "I really wanted to do something fun for their Easter. We've never done something like this before. We've never had chickens. I always thought that they'd be fun. When I brought it up to the guys, they seemed pretty excited. But I really don't think they got the gist of what we were gonna do. It seemed like the perfect fit for Easter." When I spoke with the clients at the home, they all agreed that the chickens were a great gift and looked forward to the time when they will live in the fenced yard between the day program building and the co-ed home.
"I'm hoping it gives them something that's theirs. The group home already has a cat, and they love their cat. I'm hoping that it just gives them something of their own to love. Not many of them have any family that visit or don't have nieces or nephews that come around. So, if they can have something that is excited to see them, I think that it'll just brighten their day a little bit."
When Heather dropped off the chicks, the clients were pleased to meet their new pets. "I dropped them off at the CoEd home, and the clients were so excited. They couldn't wait to eat their breakfast so that they get to go over and check out the baby chickens. I opened the box when I got there, and they all got to pet them. They were super excited."
Heather went to Havre to get the chickens with Addie Dion, who works for the day program and is the resident "chicken lady" due to her previous experience with raising birds. The total purchase took place over several days. First, the pair picked up the coop, food, a heat lamp, and other necessities for the project. "They didn't have any chickens. That's probably good because we weren't quite ready."
The chickens were finally purchased on the 16th, the day before Easter. Chicken coops are allowed in town, though the ordinance limits the number to 12. In addition, roosters are not allowed in the city. Heather explained that "We were worried that some of them wouldn't live. So, we're planning for that. We've actually already lost one... When it's time to go for the chickens to go outside, I have a couple of people that are willing to take them."
Heather explained that the lone duck in the crowd of chickens is for Donald Christianson, who has lived in our town since
around 1974. "He always talks about ducks. Ducks, ducks, ducks, and duck soup. Whenever something goes wrong he says, 'Oh, that's duck soup!' And so I was joking around with him that he's gonna get the duck. We're gonna have a Donald Duck. I got to the store at 7:04, and the ducks were completely sold out. Already four minutes into the game and the ducks were sold out. But the gal in front of me said 'Oh, you're here for a duck?' I said 'I just want one.' I told her the story, and so she gave us one of her ducklings." When I talked to Donald, he was excited to share his thoughts on chickens and loudly proclaimed "Duck Soup" several times.
The plan is to keep the chickens for the residents to enjoy watching in the yard, as well as taking care of them. They are also planning on serving the eggs as a part of meals at the homes. If the situation doesn't work out, there are plans to distribute the chickens to different farms in the area.
"People might wonder about the rules on this, because we are a group home. There isn't a rule for us to not have chickens. We can have our own chickens, because we are basically somebody's house that is staffed. We don't have to follow the guidelines of not using fresh chicken eggs. We are staff in their (the clients') house, and they are renting from BSA." Heather went to explain that if the clients want to raise chickens, they are able to.
