Pet chickens in search for vet care
for Trouw
Chickens have quietly become popular pets in backyards across the Netherlands. But while their popularity is rising, veterinary care is lagging behind. Due to strict biosecurity rules, vets working with large-scale poultry aren’t allowed to treat individual chickens. Most regular clinics don’t know how to care for them either. “There’s a gap in our veterinary system,” says Priscilla Zieltjens.
That gap is exactly why the 30-year-old vet started @dekippenpraktijk (The Chicken Practice): a mobile veterinary service dedicated entirely to pet chickens. The birds she treats are seen as part of the family, Zieltjens says. “They are given names. And people cry when they lose them.”
Sandra van de Werd, founder of @redeenlegkipnl (Save a Laying Hen), sees the same thing: “People often come back to adopt more. They’re surprised how fun chickens are and fall in love with them. They’re full of character, intelligent animals you can truly connect with.”
Science supports what chicken lovers have long suspected: chickens are more complex than they appear. Research shows they can recognize over a hundred individuals, and chicks communicate with each other even before hatching. Chickens display empathy, have memory, and show clear signs of joy.
Even hens that spent their entire lives in industrial cages rediscover their natural behavior after adoption, Van de Werd says. “They enjoy laying in the sun, taking dust baths and they run toward you - just like a dog does. They’re underestimated animals.”