Introducing kids to animals can be a wholesome experience — until it isn’t.

When two rambunctious girls refused to play nice with one uncle’s chickens, he decided to play a little prank that ended in a feathery frenzy the girls’ mother didn’t quite approve of.

Read on for the full story!

AITA for pranking my nieces?

I have twin nieces, both age 6, who love to come feed and play with our chickens.

(We have 8 Easter Egger hens, no roos.)

Lately they’ve taken to chasing the chickens around, which has made them a bit nervous around the girls (and sometimes us).

So one uncle hatches a plan that just might work.

Last weekend they came over and I noticed they were wearing flip-flops because it was warm out, so I had an idea.

I took some of my wife’s nail polish and painted their toenails to look like ladybugs.

They loved it and went outside to see the chickens.

Turns out, it did work — and a little too well.

A few minutes later, the screams I heard from the backyard made me realize the hens loved it too, as they happily turned the tables on the twins and were chasing them around the grass, pecking at their feet.

Naturally, the girls’ mother was irate.

Fast forward a few minutes and the wife’s sister was yelling and moaning, saying now they would be terrified of chickens.

Which, to be honest, didn’t really faze me much (or my wife, for that matter).

But he thinks it was a lesson worth teaching.

Neither girl was hurt in the slightest, and they now have a healthy respect for the speed and accuracy of a pecking hen.

Now the sister-in-law is being difficult and keeps telling me and my wife that we owe her and the girls an apology.

I told her to tell it to the chickens.

So, AITA?

Ultimately, it was all in good fun, and no one was hurt.

Redditors chime in with their two cents.

This commenter thinks this intervention is just what these kids needed.

Everyone learns lessons differently, but this lesson proved to be particularly effective.

These kids weren’t listening, so he just found another way to get their attention.

On the other hand, a heads up could have been helpful for the rest of the family.

This punishment may have been unorthodox, but it was just what these rambunctious kids needed to keep both themselves and the animals safe.

Sometimes the best lessons come with feathers and a little surprise.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.