2 days and 6 dead chickens later ugh!

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Are you protecting them from the cold? If not, they're probably dying from the extreme stress on their bodies.

These birds are surprisingly tough. I have a heat lamp but only use it in the teens or single digits. Last winter I had 1 orpington with only a heat lamp she survived -54° alone in her coop.

But I'm creeped out about this story.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Rat poison is blood thinner. They bleed out from the major organs. It takes a day or two and may even take more than one dose depending on how much was eaten. Knowing chickens, they don't give up on a meal.

Isn't vitamin K antidote? Can she dose her remaining birds?
I had a dog get into rat poison before and vet just gave vitamin K pills.

 

[Oolala]

That is so sad, I have a eat problem around my run and have been using poison sachets but I put them down the hole and cover with a heavy slab, I do worry about the chickens but I don't want rats just taking over as they spread disease which could kill the girls too, it's a dilema . Today I am going to try the bucket of water rat trap and also put a sprung trap at the back of the shed where the chickens can't get too.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't now of any disease that would act that fast and especially uniformly, so I'd suspect poisoning. I don't know which rat poison you are using but I think you've found the source.

I also treat rodent infestations with poisons when they get out of hand. I typically have traps set to try to keep the numbers under control but sometimes that is not enough. You do what you have to. I try to not only keep it where the chickens can't get to it but also keep it safe from dogs and wildlife. One typical method is to build a box with a hinged lid to load it and with holes just big enough for rats or mice to enter. I weight it down with cinder blocks to keep other critters from opening it but sometimes when they chew the poison block down small enough they move it outside. It doesn't happen often but I have seen it a couple of times. Hopefully the dosage in that small amount would not be enough to harm a larger critter if it did eat it.

The only times I've lost that many at one time was dog attacks. It's not a good feeling, especially when you feel like if you had just been around to notice you could have stopped it. Don't beat yourself up too much, just learn from it.

 

[aart]

That stinks @Mrs. K !! So sorry.
The sudden onset surely makes the rat poison theory relevant.

 

[Mrs. K]

We to have the rat poison contained. But the coons got into it and scattered it and packed it out. Coons can get into nearly anything. So darn discouraging. DH had found some, and of course picked it up.

This is an old ranch, and we do have old buildings, so hoping to tear some of those down...but we considered it, and the birds have been out and about for 15 years on occasion. I don't free range every day, but occasionally. I do let them get out.

I am going to be looking very carefully today. Ugh! Most my flock, left with the rooster and an old hen, going to be buying eggs for some time to come. Dang it. Today, the grandkids are here and I am scrapping the plates, thinking to feed the chickens...well 2 are not going to eat much, and I am rather scared to go down and see if I HAVE two left. What a wreck.

MRs K

 

[Mrs. K]

But not little children.... I am going to look hard. That would be unforgivable.

 

[centrarchid]

Another possibility. Anyone breaking light bulbs where chickens can get at shards? I have lost a couple to what appeared to be hardware disease. They passed on roost with a lot of food in crop and digestive tract overall.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I just wanted to chime in that I'm so, so sorry to hear about your losses. I can't imagine how heartbreaking this is.

 

[centrarchid]

Potential valuable lesson for grand kids. Show them and explain. Have them help you find potential poison deposits the chickens are eating.

Does rodenticide label indicate emergency treatment if consumed by nontarget animal?