22 | APRIL 27 • 2023 

Out of all their pets, Cash 
and Bodhi particularly enjoy 
helping with the chickens 
and ducks; they love to feed 
them and clean their coops. 
According to Jordyn, care is 
not particularly complicated 
beyond providing food, water 
for the ducks to swim in and a 
draft-free area to prevent frost 
bite in the winters. 
Contrary to their reputation, 
Jordyn said that chickens are 
smart animals and that there 
are many perks to keeping 
them.
“Chickens are 
underestimated,” Jordyn said. 
“Some respond when their 
names are called and have 
fun personalities. They’re 
sustainable — they provide us 
with eggs, and they’re excellent 
for waste management — they 
eat anything. In the summer, 
chickens are a huge help with 
bugs and rodents; we used to 
find ticks on our boys all the 
time, but we’ve seen none since 
we got the chickens.
”
Best of all, chicken therapy 
is an emerging trend out 
of Europe with chickens 
becoming more of a common 
sight in nursing homes 
and special needs schools. 
According to a 2019 article 
in Psychology Today, “They 
[chickens] can make good 
therapy pets for people … 
Caretaking is good for you 
when it’s not overwhelming, 
and a chicken can provide an 
‘un-anxious’ example of how to 
live without worry.
”
Jordyn said she felt the 
therapeutic benefits from 
her chickens when she was 
suffering from severe post-
partum depression after the 
birth of both her sons. 
“Spending just 30 minutes 
a day, having that quiet time 
collecting the eggs, helped me 

Gtremendously,
” she said of her 
feathered pets. 

DELIGHTFUL VERMIN
In 2021, as Sarah G. of West 
Bloomfield cleaned out her 
pet’s cage, her phone rang. 
Knowing it was important, 
she answered and went into 
the other room to settle 
down for a long conversation. 
An hour later, she returned 
and suddenly realized she’
d 
forgotten to put her pets back 
in their cage.
“Chip!” she called worriedly. 
“Salsa! Pickles?”
One furry little rat’s head 
instantly popped out of her 
closet drawer from on top of 
her folded T-shirts … and then 
came the other two peeking out 
from her socks. 
Most people would not be 
thrilled to see rats burrowing in 
their clothes, but these rats are 
Sarah’s beloved pets.
“Wild rats are pests; they 
multiply quickly and can live in 
almost any environment. But 
domesticated rats are totally 

different; they’re adorable, 
intelligent, social creatures that 
make amazing pets,
” said Sarah, 
who is a teacher.
About five years ago, Sarah 
had an aggressive pet hamster. 
She googled, “Where to get a 
friendly hamster” and found a 
post that recommended, “Don’t 
get hamsters … if you want 
good, friendly pets, get rats.
” 
Sarah researched and liked 
what she read, so she found a 
breeder and bought her rats in 
2021.
“Breeders are best because 
they handle their animals from 
the day they’re born, so their 
animals are extremely used to 
human contact,
” Sarah said. 
According to Sarah, rats 
make perfect pets because 
they’re so curious, animated 
and active.
“They’re so much fun,
” Sarah 
said. “Rats have this innate 
sense of order. I once fixed up 
their cage and then they went 
and undid all my hard work. I 
give them cardboard pieces and 
they shred it and make little 

nests for themselves. I gave 
Pickles a roll of toilet paper and 
he unrolled it down the stairs 
of his cage and created this 
entire elaborate situation.
”
Although they’re small — 
domesticated rats grow to 
about 8-10 inches — Sarah 
said they are more like dogs in 
terms of the close bond they 
share with their owners. 
“They’re snuggly. We have 
lots of cuddles. Some wait for 
me in the corner of their cage 
every single day, leaping and 
running around when they 
see me,
” Sarah said. “I’ve read 
stories about rats that saved 
people. In one case, a guy had 
fallen asleep in a mine and a rat 
he’
d been feeding bit him. The 
man woke up and realized the 
mine was about to collapse and 
got out in time. Another time, 
a domesticated rat escaped 
its cage and scratched at its 
owner’s bedroom door. When 
she woke up, she realized the 
house was on fire … Their rat 
saved the whole family.
”
Sarah feeds her rats 
blocks of rat food, as well as 
small amounts of fruit and 
vegetables, pasta, rice and 
chicken. Rats can develop 
respiratory issues and tumors 
are common, so vet care can 
add up quickly, but Sarah says 
the benefits clearly outweigh 
the downsides. 
“They come when I call, 
have such zest for life, and I 
can see how they really tune in 
with the person who’s holding 
them. You can really connect 
with pet rats and develop a 
beautiful relationship,
” said 
Sarah. “When I stroke their 
heads and ears, they close 
their eyes, get this blissed out 
expression on their faces and 
start chattering their teeth. 
They even wag their tails. It’s so 
cute. My happy little rats!” 

continued from page 21

Sarah G. preferred not to be 
photographed, but here is the author’s 
daughter Zahava Burstyn showing off 
her own pet rat.

OUR COMMUNITY

