If an earthworm doesn't move when it's touched is it dead?

[DelBlueHen]

I feel like an idiot for asking, but I just got some European earthworms to raise for my chickens and after I put them in their habitat, many of them are just laying there. When I picked them up, they don't move. Are they dead already?

Thanks.

 

[3goodeggs]

How cold is it where you are?
I suggest moving them to a warmer area. One of two things will happen.
1. They will warm up and start moving
2. They will warm up and start smelling.
I hope they start moving.

 

[DelBlueHen]

How cold is it where you are?
I suggest moving them to a warmer area. One of two things will happen.
1. They will warm up and start moving
2. They will warm up and start smelling.
I hope they start moving.

They're Euro nightcrawlers that like it cold. They're in my basement -- @55 degrees. They weren't moving this morning either, so I fed them to my girls, who weren't very interested. Maybe because they aren't moving.

 

[3goodeggs]

save the soil and toss it in your compost. there may have been some eggs in it. You never know.