My flock is scared of a wild rabbit.

[aart]

They may, in part, be reacting to her fear/anxiety.
It takes time and repetition for birds to become acclimated to human presence,
humans need to be calm and move slowly when working with the birds.
The more time you spend calmly interacting with the birds the calmer they should become. Tho some birds, and people, may never lose their skittishness.

 

[Chickassan]

Im with oldhen I think you've had visitors you aren't aware of.Your mom chunking food probably didn't help but I doubt it caused all this, especially since you said they used to be fine. I'm thinking dog or fox or heck even a cat just something fast.Giving something to duck under or jump up on will probably help loads.

 

[Abriana]

My hens freak when a little yorkie i dog-sit moves quickly, in contrast my smooth moving collie does not make them nervous. Quick movements do scare them. How long has this been going on? If not for long, they may get used to it. On the other hand, if it has been more than a few weeks, they probably will never be okay. I'm sure they would be fine if you just let it be. I saw a rabbit in my pen this morning.

 

[shanadienne]

It's been at least a month since it started. At this point they get nervous when they see the bunny in anticipation of the quick movements making them panic.

 

[GC-Raptor]

The bunnies in my yard, I've seen 4 at once, are leary of my omnivorous girls . My girls don't seem to fear ground animals, only things that fly like airplanes and hawks. Raggedy Ann was attacked by a coopers hawk last year, she survived. GC (Yea I renamed her)

 

[Abriana]

Maybe they'll get over it. I say just wait and see. I had a hen who was attacked by a hawk, but the rooster came in and fought him off. Napoleon, the rooster, is my avatar. Here is a pic of him:

My Columbian Rock Rooster, Napoleon. He is very brave (and aggressive) he has fought off hawks and won at least two or three times.

• Abriana
• Apr 26, 2017
• 3

looking pretty gentle here in the picture but he is pretty feisty when it comes to his ladies.