Do you think it'll bite us?

[Heather J]

I could swear this thought was going through my bird's heads this evening. I emptied the straw out of the coop today and put in pine shavings for the first time ever. The birds all walked up to the door and looked inside, then slowly backed away.

I wasn't sure if they would dare go in there at dusk, but apparently one of them got hungry enough to brave the pine shavings, and others saw it didn't kill her, and slowing braved the new litter. Everyone made it in safe and sound, after refusing to enter the coop for seven or eight hours.

Funny, the geese and ducks weren't the least bit concerned and plowed right in when they saw the feed was out where they could get to it.

 

[EllyMae]

They are funny when they are investigating new objects, lol,

 

[FloridaChickenChick]

I had a bag of wood shavings outside the coop one morning. I opened the door to let the flock out -- they usually tumble out like clowns from a car -- and they just sort of stood there looking at the bag. I had to MOVE IT AROUND THE CORNER before they'd come out!

But it's okay. I love them anyway.

 

[Michigan Chickman]

I tried to switch from straw to pine shavings in my nest boxes last week. I put the shavings in half of them and left straw in the other half to see what they liked better and it took them 3 days to even get in the boxes with shavings

I'm still not sure if it's that they don't like the shavings or there just scared of the "scary" new stuff

 

[Ladysonja]

Having a Quaker Parrot at one point in pet owning career, he very much disliked anything new in cage. It would take him several days to a week to sit on a new purch in his cage.

At first I freaked because he was sitting at the bottom of his cage looking like the boogy man was about to snap his little head off.

So when I got the new chicks home, they freak out when I put a purch in their brooder box.

Knowing that birds are very skidish of new things, I was releaved to come back to see that everyone figured out the purch in the brooder box was being used.

Silly birds!

 

[spook]

Isn't it amazing at what gets birds! Every year DH has the tools out in the garden, building raised beds in the past 2 years, putting up fence, and all that stuff, shovels and rakes and who knows what else. Every time that man lifts a spade, the chickens start screaming like he had the ax out heading for them!
When he puts the spade down, they run to see what he had done. Oye, who knows! LOL.
I do appreciate the other bird tales here...but I have 2 cats that are worse then the chickens! ha ha ha!!!!