Terrified of earthworms?!!

[Alabama ee]

I have 6 hens and one roo. They are all EE's that are about 10 weeks old now. They have been outside for a few weeks where they have a portable run and coop.

Here's the thing..they are afraid of earthworms! We have given them meal worms. They love meal worms. I have also seen then eat other bugs like inch worms, and grasshoppers, etc. They eat grass, and all kinds of other things we put in there. I also keep their feed and water filled. However, if you put an earthworm in there, they back away from it. They will not eat it. They act like I would if I saw a snake! They all move as far away from it as they can.

My hubby just put one in thinking they would eat it. They all ran up to it thinking it was another yummy treat. Soon as they got close enough to pick it up, they all backed up and ran as far away from the "monster" as they all could ...flapping their wings and complaining along the way. Too funny!

So, I have chickens they have a fear of earthworm disorder.

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Very funny! Mine vacuum them up.

It's probably a good thing that they don't like them at this age, though. Earthworms can carry nematode parasites, whereas mealworms are unlikely to.

 

[Imp]

Monsters huh?

Birds are frequently afraid of new things, shapes, colors etc. Eventually they will love earthworms.

Imp- banana slugs are a different story now

 

[Chicken Boo]

LOL!!! They will probably grow out of it. But that's funny, especially since when my girls were just 3 months old were ready to take apart a ~16" snake they found in the garden. If I did not have some bread in my hand they would have divvied him up in a most horrible fashion.