The chickens are frightened of small people!

 

Small tomatoes growing in the garden.

A few weeks ago, a family of friends were here for a visit. The last time I saw them, their daughter was a toddler. It was a pleasure to meet her all over again at the age of eight. She was the first person to ask for a very thorough and detailed tour of my garden. It was a joy to see how she absorbed the new information. The first thing she noticed was the amount of tomatoes ready to harvest. She offered to help. The good ones went in a basket and a pile of seconds was made for the chickens. 

Brahma-mix chickens in Puriscal.

After enough tomatoes were set aside for the chickens she asked to see the flock. I wasn't anticipating the chicken's reaction. They saw her, completely freaked out and ran as far away as possible, huddling in a corner. She wanted to feed them tomatoes and tossed some through the fence. This seemed to freak the chickens out even more. This is the worst I have ever seen my chickens freak out! It dawned on me that these chickens have never seen a child, or anyone her height. I think they saw her as an entire new animal and potential predator! 

My chickens resting during the heat of the day.

Later that evening I did the chicken chores and they were still in shock and didn't want me to be near them. The next morning, I discovered they had slept in the front right paddock, something they have never done. I opened the doors to the next paddock and they filed out. By noon that day they had returned to normal and seemed to have forgiven me for the trauma they experienced. Next time a short human wants to see the chickens I will have them stand on a chair to appear taller.