This game is played by chickens when another chicken has a food item that is considered to be a worm. Whilst not a team game it can involve two or more chickens and have more than one winner
Please remember that chickens are not vegetarians, worms are a chickens second favourite food after anything that is human food. This of course excludes mealworms which don’t count as food as they are a tasty treat. The added advantage to the flock about worms as a food source, and I really mean earthworms here, is that they are difficult to swallow in one hit and therefore give everyone plenty of opportunity to grab a mouthful.
If you consider this game cruel in the extreme to worms then you best not feed them to your chickens. However your chickens will scout out their own worms whether you like it or not.
Aim of the game;
To eat the worm, in part if not the whole thing
Equipment;
- An earthworm
- Anything that could be mistaken for an earthworm, spaghetti will do just fine but is not as tasty.
Rules;
- For a truly even game of two or more players this game should be played whilst the chickens are within the confines of the run and only 1 worm supplied
- Anything that resembles a worm can be considered a worm
- Any chicken wanting a bit of worm can join in
- Any chicken with a worm should stand and wait for an opponent to join in but it is fair to keep running until they are not being chased by another chicken for food
- Don’t chew or peck at your food, just swallow it
- If you are a chicken clever enough to have followed rule no.3 you will probably automatically win
- Worm hunting occurs if you are digging in the garden. If your chickens are confined to quarters rather than free ranging, digging will be considered a spectator sport for chickens. If you chickens are free ranging chickens are more than happy to help hunt for worms however do not be disappointed if they play snatch.
How to play;
- Make a worm, or similar, available to your chickens.
- Whichever chicken is nearest the food or fastest to get to it must grab the tasty morsel and make a dash for safety.
- The rest of the flock will chase the leader and make a grab for the dangly end of the worm.
- The game players will then pull as hard as possible to gain ownership of the worm, please note that any chicken can join in at any time
- Swallow any acquired tasty morsel as soon as it becomes available so no-one else can get any of it
Winner
Any chicken that gets to eat some worm.