WHILE the new Royal prince may have captured the nation’s heart, residents at one Oxfordshire care home have been keeping a close eye on a birth of a different kind.

Residents from Stirling Care Home in Wantage have had a cracking time caring for new born chicks as part of an Easter project.

And after everyone watched them hatch last week, the young chicks are now have a brief stay before being moved on to a new permanent home on a farm.

The young birds will be taken care of for a total of 10 days, before being rehomed on free range smallholdings, as part of the Living Eggs project.

Home manager Lisa Stirlings said: “It’s really exciting to watch the journey of life from egg to chick.

Established over 20 years ago for Australian schoolchildren, Living Eggs has now been working with Care homes in the UK for 10 years.

The aim of the programme is to provide a common interest for all residents and stimulating social interaction, memories come flooding back of the ‘good old days’ when every family had chickens in their gardens.

Living Eggs UK Manager Simon Rees-Jones added: “Once the eggs hatch, the care and nurture of the fluffy yellow chicks are then part of home life for the next ten days.

“Feeding, cleaning and petting become an essential and stimulating activity for residents.”