My chickens are Eremikophobics

LovinMyHensInNC!

Songster
11 Years
Oct 3, 2008
164
2
121
Western North Carolina
Eremikophobia = the fear of sand

Yesterday I finally got a truck full of sand delivered and worked all day putting it on the floor of my chicken house which is a converted horse stall. My chickens will not step a foot on it!!!!

Last night I went to close their door and they were all standing on the door ledge bawking like crazy trying to figure out how to get on their roosts without walking on the sand. I had to catch each and every one and toss them in and as soon as they landed on the sand, they hauled tatters to get on their roosts! This morning when I went to open their door, still they were on their roosts and they were flying from there to the nest boxes and back. And then they made a poor attempt on flying from their roosts out the door.

How long will this last?? You would think I installed quick sand or something!

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Oh chickens....


I bet if you sprinkle their favorite treats all over the sand they will overcome their fear REALLY fast.
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Don't worry....they'll adjust soon.
 
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Believe me, I tried! You should see the floor of their house right now... there is cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, and bread crumbs sprinkled along the whole bottom!! I will try putting out some mackerel later today!
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Silly chickens!

I wish my goats were this dumb! That would solve a lot of my problems!
 
My head rooster is like that with any new bedding in his coop - he paces back and forth outside squawking and having a fit like he's telling the girls not to walk on it cause "the floor is lava"
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usually the girls just walk on past him and into the coop anyway.

When the hens were younger they listened to him - to every sound/move/squawk - now they are a little older and, like most relationships, the honeymoon is over for the poor guy - they ignore a lot of what he tries to tell them. (unless he is calling them to eat the treat he just found in the grass).

meri
 
I had put a lot of the construction sand (tan in color) in the run before adding the chicks, so they thought this was "normal". When I went to replenish it a few months later, all I could find (I was in a hurry) was that white "play sand" for children"s sandboxes. It was slightly more expensive, but I bought it and put it in the run.

The chickens were terrified of it!! It was so BRIGHT, WHITE, and DANGEROUS!

They couldn't bring themselves to walk on it. I had to take a rake and mix it in with the old stuff. It was so funny to watch them sneaking up on it with necks outstretched, ready to jump back if it struck at them!

Chickens are endlessly amusing!
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I just peeked out my window... it just started raining outside and all of my chickens are standing in front of their door kinda resembling drowned rats
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I guess the rain is not so bad after all (comparing it to the sand, that is!)
 

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