After my pet chicken died, I felt super guilty due to my own lack of knowledge, and I thought ‘How could I fix this?’

Anika Nawar

By Arianna Avitia-Gutierrez & Mia Mendez

Have you ever stopped to think about how a chicken feels? After being cooped up all day in a pen, some chickens experience an issue called poultry depression.

This deadly, yet disregarded disorder leads to stagnant egg production in hens and negatively impacts their welfare. Luckily, senior Anika Nawar is putting in the work to combat this overlooked issue through her creation of the Free Feathers Foundation.

Nawar established the Free Feathers Foundation, a non-profit international organization, funded solely by partnership donations and staff deposits, in 2021 to mitigate poultry depression and reduce low-income farmers’ vet bills. The organization’s core missions target low-income chicken owners who seek enrichment opportunities for their feathered pets to ward off depression.

Nawar’s chosen method to solving poultry depression is through her invention of “ChickFlicks,” an effective anti-depression toy she blueprinted, handmade, and tested herself. With two years of thorough research and experimentation, she found a way to make a toy that stimulates dopamine production in chickens, directly combating their depression. Now, her organization’s staff team of UChicago undergraduates and animal shelter officers donates these toys to underfunded family farms, sanctuaries, and ranch networks. Nawar is also currently in the process of federally patenting her invention through the Vehomy brand.

“I looked at specific colors and textures that domesticated chickens prefer,” Nawar said. “They really like bright blue, vibrant red, and neon green. The materials they like are smooth-lined, like mesh and ceramics. Using those materials I made my own specialized chicken toys.”

It took Nawar about two years to complete the design. Starting in 2020, she mapped out every detail, making complete blueprints. After three prototypes, Nawar finally found a design that piqued the chickens’ curiosity. Though the process was long and grueling, it proved to be worth it. Now, chicken owners across the globe are interested in her ChickFlicks.

“At first, it was just an L.A. project where I donated to 15 family farms,” Nawar said. “As soon as I started taking bigger steps, like website development and public workshops, the word spread, and animal owners started reaching out to me.”

Currently, Nawar’s ChickFlicks have distribution networks in ten states including California, Illinois, and Texas. She has also expanded internationally to Germany and Bangladesh. In total, the Free Feathers Foundation has handmade and distributed over 700 toys to more than 70 farm facilities. Recently, the ambitious organization was even named “Top Veterinary Organization,” by PackLife L.A.

Nawar’s interest in poultry depression began in middle school after her pet chicken unexpectedly died. What she didn’t know was that chickens develop depression when they lack stimulants, leading them to isolation, decreased appetite, and stagnant egg production.

Now, Nawar has big plans for the future of her chicken endeavors. She is working with ABC7, LA Times, and NBC LA in hopes of continuing to spread her message on a larger scale. After months of work and revision, her research was approved by the Scientific Review Committee and will soon be published in Harvard’s Journal for Emerging Investigators, further proving her journey towards saving the chickens goes much further than a high school project.

“All the colleges I applied to have chickens on campus,” Nawar said. “So wherever I go I’ll be able to revisit research limitations and expand my project.”

Her ultimate goal is to spread the message that we should be educated in how we treat our animals, along with providing assistance to low-income chicken owners who can’t afford antidepressants. In college, Nawar hopes to study Veterinary Sciences and move on to become a companion animal veterinarian.

As for today, Nawar’s work is opening a discussion not only among chicken owners but all animal lovers. Her contribution to animal sciences and vertebrate research has been immense, teaching us that humans and animals alike should be treated with care and kindness. With her plans for the future, all we can expect is growth from Nawar.