Chicken in a jacket!

CHICKEN cosy: pictured with the poultry are (back, from the left) Darren McMillan and Alan Street, (front, from the left), Shirley Evans, Silvia Edwards, who came up with the idea of knitting jackets for chickens, and Marjorie Atkinson

Knitters give poultry a natty winter warmer
SMARTLY-DRESSED chickens are clucking happily after being knitted jackets to keep them warm this winter.

Knitters picked up their needles to create the unusual garments for their feathered friends that had been moulting too quickly and leaving them at risk in the cold.

Housing 21 residents at Walton House and Age Concern’s “Natty Knitters” were the eggheads who cracked the idea for the poultry kept at the Grass Roots project in Failsworth.

It followed a Good Neighbour Day held in July at Walton House that launched the Pride in Failsworth initiative.

Among those taking part was Grass Roots, based in Marlborough Drive, Failsworth, which was encouraging residents of all ages to get more involved in the community.

Housing 21 welfare manager Joanne Jones said: “We visited Grass Roots and were inspired by the fantastic work they are doing. The site is just like a community project. When we found out that some of the chickens were losing their feathers due too moulting more quickly than usual, we were sure we could help out.

“We mentioned it to our residents at Walton House, they downloaded patterns from the internet and they got knitting away, enlisting help from friends at Age Concern.”

They have created around 40 jackets, complete with the Pride in Failsworth logo, which the chickens are now wearing.

Grass Roots wellbeing development officer Sarah Lewis said: “The jackets look great and our chickens are wearing them with pride. Thanks goes to the Walton House residents and Age Concern for supporting us in this way. It’s a fantastic example of communities working together.

“We are very keen for the community to get involved here and want to promote Pride in Failsworth and the wellbeing service.

“We provide training opportunities for all individuals and volunteers, and grow a fantastic range of organic fruit, vegetables and flowers, as well as producing eggs for sale.

“This year we have produced our first batch of honey from our bees. We are calling it Pride in Failsworth.

“Derek Clarke (Ex-Bee-keeper), who is one of our volunteers and a former beekeeper has been superb in his support of the project.”