The sky is falling syndrome...

[dandelionheart]

I bundled up today to go feed our fowl. It is a morning treat for them to get warm oatmeal - this morning I fixed it with green beans and sweet red pepper powder. Yum. I also brought their normal feed and some warm water. I noticed they weren't as excited as normal. Xena started flipping out (she is our youngest pullet) and started flapping, flying, hopping all around their run. This got Elizabeth and Geraldine (next two youngest) worked up and I had three that were going bonkers - not for the oatmeal, just flipping out. I was worried that maybe they had some sort of cognitive issues - some brain eating parasite or something... Very concerned I tried to get them to pet and calm them down. This freaked them out even more and Bronwen, Geena, Georgia, and Martha started going bonkers too (the next youngest four) and they all packed together in the egg boxes to escape me. Henrietta, Annie, Mae, and Gloria (Gloria in front as Top Hen) huddled in a corner of the run giving me such glares... but were a bit braver. I tried to figure out... what the heck? I noticed that they were looking at my head. Yes. My head. It had a hat on it. I took it off. They calmed down a bit and had some oatmeal. I went around and gathered eggs (without my hat) and the other girls were fine with that. *sigh* Yes. Chickens are really dumb birds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, I can walk down there with a feed or water bucket in hand and they crowd around. If I have a tiny camera in my hand, they panic.

I don't consider them dumb, it's just that their bird brain works differently that ours.

 

[gryeyes]

Try doing any task around the chickens, whilst wearing red Crocs.

Those particularly set off my dominant rooster, Carl. He hates them. He becomes a huge, prehistoric, feathered stalker, growling and bent over, neck feathers flared, just on the edge of totally going T-Rex on 'em.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Quote:

Yep. All sounds normal from what I see of my girls too.

 

[Miz Mary]

Oh good, Im NOT crazy !!!! I wore a new rain coat in the coop one day , and my little roo banty jumped and kicked me !!! he's never been aggressive , and I *thought* it was the new coat w/ hood .... I call them the Fashion Police !!!

 

[obaan1]

"Fashion Police" -- that's funny. I should name a chick after Joan Rivers.

 

[terrilhb]

Thanks for the laughs. My chickens and roo's flip out too if i go in with anything new. Silly babies.

 

[Mak]

Quote:
Or red pants. I have two pair of flannel pj pants- one is red with white snowflakes, the others are pink with red hearts. Occasionally, if I just want to get the eggs, I will go to the coop without changing into jeans. If I am wearing the red or pink ones, my roo will try to tear thru the chicken wire in the run to get at me. I've learned to just open the nest boxes from the back, get the eggs and get out! LOL I can wear my blue ones or green ones and no problem. Talk about "seeing red!"

 

[sourland]

Dumb? They figured out that something was different before you did.

 

[donnavee]

Ha, last summer we had a "end of summer" party on our deck, went all out with the tropical look, grass skirts for everyone to slip on. Anyway, I went down to throw out some snacks for the girls while still wearing my party garb. They all started running around and freaking out. I had no idea what was going on - they were acting like I had come to kill them. Then, I remembered I was wearing a bright pink grass skirt. I slipped it off and they all calmed down once they saw the familiar jeans. Maybe they were just trying to tell me how ridiculous I looked? I decided not to put it back on.