OMG. I thought I killed them!

[karincs]

I have my four 2.5 week olds out for some playtime while I did some computer work in the same room. I suddenly sneezed and it apparently scared them! There was some loud squawks, a fluttering scramble,

then dead silence. I found them in the corner, frozen like a statue. I felt SO bad!

 

[familyfarm1]

Well chicks get can scared very quickly.

 

[SymanSaysFarms]

Aww!!! Silly girls <3

 

[mhopson19]

lol that is too funny.

 

[tantricdragon13]

hahaha...poor things! They do seem to startle easily. I put a paper bowl filled with grit in with my chicks. They didn't care about it, but when one of them accidentally flipped the bowl over, they nearly lost their minds!

 

[PrairieChickens]

They thought your sneeze was an alarm call warning them to take cover. Mother hens will make a loud noise if a predator is coming, and the chicks will scatter and take cover immediately. It's not you they were scared of--it was the mystery predator they thought you were warning them about

 

[Sonya9]

LOL...when my chicks were about 6 weeks we had a really warm day and the house was hot. I figured it was warm enough that I could turn the fan on without causing them a chill.

Suddenly they all started freaking out BIG TIME! I quickly realized the ceiling fan over their brooder was scaring them witless and I had to rush to turn it off and then cover their brooder with a towel until it stopped moving.

The chicks were raised with barking dogs but if my LGD gives a serious warning bark they take notice, they definitely recognize that as the signal that there is a threat! Smart little guys!

 

[karincs]

They thought your sneeze was an alarm call warning them to take cover. Mother hens will make a loud noise if a predator is coming, and the chicks will scatter and take cover immediately. It's not you they were scared of--it was the mystery predator they thought you were warning them about

oh thank you! that makes me feel a little better... shortly after they recovered from the sneeze incident, I noticed they had discovered a wall outlet....without thinking I said "Uh-uh-uh!" like one might say to a toddler...and WHOOSH SCATTER and FREEZE all over again!!! At that point I needed some recovery time and decided playtime was over. Back to their pen they went, where they all settled in for a nice nap!

 

[PrairieChickens]

lol Their instincts are fascinating.