Hoover’s Hatchery Delivers Chicks to Mason City Care Facility to Support Residents

MASON CITY, Iowa — Four tiny chicks arrived Monday morning at the IOOF Home & Community Therapy Center in Mason City, but staff members say their impact could be much bigger than their size.

Hoover’s Hatchery, an Iowa-based hatchery founded in 1944, delivered the chicks along with a brooder, feeder, waterer, heat lamp, and feed as part of a new initiative designed to bring comfort, engagement, and connection to residents at the care facility.

While Hoover’s ships chicks to backyard poultry owners across the country every day, this delivery stayed close to home.

The chicks will remain at the IOOF Home & Community Therapy Center for the next six to eight weeks while they grow and develop. Residents, staff, and visiting family members will all have opportunities to interact with them.

IOOF Home staff say the chicks offer more than simple entertainment.

“Having that emotional support from an animal does provide some comfort for the residents,” said Anthony Romualdo of IOOF Home. “Some residents don’t even have family.”

Facility leaders believe the birds could also encourage more family visits, especially from younger relatives.

“It’s a big draw for our facility and our residents, families, and staff to bring little ones,” Romualdo said. “Anytime we have events like our Easter egg hunt or Halloween, we have kids running around here everywhere and the residents just love it.”

Research from care facilities around the world suggests programs like this can provide meaningful emotional and mental health benefits. A United Kingdom initiative called HenPower has introduced chickens into more than 40 care homes since 2011. Studies conducted by Northumbria University found reductions in loneliness and depression among residents and decreased use of antipsychotic medications in participating facilities.

Similar programs have spread throughout the United States, including dementia care centers that use chickens as calming companions for residents.

Organizers say chickens can be especially effective in elderly communities because many residents grew up around farms or rural life, helping spark memories and conversation. Unlike larger animals, chickens can also be observed comfortably from a wheelchair or window, making interaction easier for residents with mobility limitations.

Hoover’s Hatchery selected four different breeds for the program, each chosen for personality and appearance:

• Sapphire Gem — A slate-blue hybrid known for a gentle temperament and large brown eggs.
• New Hampshire Red — A calm heritage breed dating back to 1935.
• Production Blue — A blue-feathered hybrid recognized for friendliness and productivity.
• Blue Breasted Brown Leghorn — An active, visually striking breed that lays white eggs.

Monday’s delivery marks only the first phase of the project.

Once the chicks mature enough to move outdoors, Hoover’s Hatchery plans to return to install a Hoover’s Lean-To Easy Clean Chicken Coop at the facility.

Hoover’s Hatchery is currently the largest provider of backyard poultry in the United States, offering more than 200 breeds shipped from hatcheries in Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Missouri.

For more information about backyard poultry, visit Hoover’s Hatchery online.