Chickens terrified of watermelon

[koturnix]

It's been a hot couple of days so I gave my girls a treat. Or at least tried to.
I put a quarter of a mini watermelon in their run and they all screamed and ran from it. All 5 of them were squashed in a corner of the run trying to melt themselves through the fence to get away from the dreaded fruit slice.
After I left the run they ran into their coop to hide.
I moved the watermelon to the back of the run away from line of sight so they cannot see it while inside their coop but they are still huddled in there scared out of their minds. There's even mealworms (their favorite treat) sprinkled on top of the slice but that is not enough to entice them.

My previous batch of hens loved watermelon but this group seems extra jumpy. Anyone else's chickens scared of new treats?

 

[hysales]

maybe take a few bites first Lead by example.

 

[3KillerBs]

Just leave it there. They'll get used to it after a bit.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

It's been a hot couple of days so I gave my girls a treat. Or at least tried to.
I put a quarter of a mini watermelon in their run and they all screamed and ran from it. All 5 of them were squashed in a corner of the run trying to melt themselves through the fence to get away from the dreaded fruit slice.
After I left the run they ran into their coop to hide.
I moved the watermelon to the back of the run away from line of sight so they cannot see it while inside their coop but they are still huddled in there scared out of their minds. There's even mealworms (their favorite treat) sprinkled on top of the slice but that is not enough to entice them.

My previous batch of hens loved watermelon but this group seems extra jumpy. Anyone else's chickens scared of new treats?

I'm with them...I run far far away from watermelon...any melon actually.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Anything new is scary, so if you just leave it there for a few hours they'll eventually investigate it.