Arizona Chickens

[pdx2phx]

Quote:
Yes, they seem to suffer from scorpion stings for a while, getting progressively more paralyzed which is actually a good thing in a way as we have been able to treat ones that have been stung one we find out. We haven't lost any (that I know of) to scorpions since we started using the children's benadryl, and that goes for full size, banties and seramas, too.

If it was the squirrel, I just wonder how it killed them exactly....how do they do it? Why didn't it try to feed off them? I did see some small red marks on her head, but they didn't look like scratches even, and maybe could have been from me fishing her out? Her neck was extremely floppy as would be expected - I felt her spine but I couldn't feel anything that felt broken. She was so soft that her eyelids were a little flexible still. Makes me wish so much that I had made it home just a little earlier, and that I had realized something was wrong sooner.

 

[parentwarrior]

I checked with Convenient Termite and Pest Control http://www.convenienttermite.com/ about treatments safe for chickens and the bugs they eat. I own a local home Inspection business and this is who we refer our termite inspections to, they are wonderful. They had a long explanation that I could not even try to para phrase. You can call them and they can go into the details but they do have treatments that are safe.
Kris

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Rock squirrels can be a menace. I would suspect that an adult was taking the chicken body to the burrow to feed a brood of baby squirrels. This would be in the prime season for that as the juveniles have not yet dispersed. I would expect to find some kind of bite marks around the head/neck though. I also wonder if they prefer their prey to be dead for a period of time; they're known for eating road kill. That might explain why they hadn't yet been eaten. That is pure speculation though.

 

[itsredcandy]

I am so bummed....we lost two of our teenage chicks today, and I don't know what got 'em. One was a beautiful tiny EE/Serama pullet with gorgeous green eyes, and the other was her half brother, a Duckwing OEGB/Serama cockerel, who was also gorgeous. They were both so sweet and affectionate, too. Their other two siblings are walking around peeping loudly looking for them and keep running to me to have me help find their family (they used to do this all the time as chicks when any of them got separated from the foursome). I am so sad, and it's obvious that they miss their nestmates.

I found the cockerel on the ground somewhat near his sister, and could tell he'd been gone a little bit longer as he was in rigor. The pullet had run/been drug into a small space between the back of the shed and the side of the house. I sorta wonder if she had been dragged back there by something, but couldn't find marks or obvious injuries on either of them. She was still pretty pliable. I'm guessing if there was an attack that he defended his sister and died first, being the good little boy that he was.

There was a corncob and a bit of orange rind behind the shed, and my DH said that he saw a squirrel drag a piece of orange back there yesterday. It is a very small space!! I wonder if the squirrel could have drug her back there? Has anyone heard of such a thing? Would/could a squirrel kill a serama pullet and cockerel?? Maybe it was scorpions, but I didn't see any dried mucus around their beaks(?) I don't think a cat could fit back there.

What do you think?? Any ideas anyone?







You can see Little Roo and Baby Bandit (eyeliner!) snuggled together in the middle of the picture in younger days. RIP sweet babies.

Sorry about your babies. Very sad

 

[Arizonachicken]

I am so bummed....we lost two of our teenage chicks today, and I don't know what got 'em.  One was a beautiful tiny EE/Serama pullet with gorgeous green eyes, and the other was her half brother, a Duckwing OEGB/Serama cockerel, who was also gorgeous.  They were both so sweet and affectionate, too.  Their other two siblings are walking around peeping loudly looking for them and keep running to me to have me help find their family (they used to do this all the time as chicks when any of them got separated from the foursome).  I am so sad, and it's obvious that they miss their nestmates.  

I found the cockerel on the ground somewhat near his sister, and could tell he'd been gone a little bit longer as he was in rigor.  The pullet had run/been drug into a small space between the back of the shed and the side of the house.  I sorta wonder if she had been dragged back there by something, but couldn't find marks or obvious injuries on either of them.  She was still pretty pliable.  I'm guessing if there was an attack that he defended his sister and died first, being the good little boy that he was. 

There was a corncob and a bit of orange rind behind the shed, and my DH said that he saw a squirrel drag a piece of orange back there yesterday.  It is a very small space!! I wonder if the squirrel could have drug her back there? Has anyone heard of such a thing?  Would/could a squirrel kill a serama pullet and cockerel??  Maybe it was scorpions, but I didn't see any dried mucus around their beaks(?)  I don't think a cat could fit back there.

What do you think??  Any ideas anyone?







You can see Little Roo and Baby Bandit (eyeliner!) snuggled together in the middle of the picture in younger days.  RIP sweet babies.

So sorry! I think you need to get rid of that squirrel.

 

[Fuzzybird]

Wow, I never heard of squirrels eating meat! Glad we don't have rock squirrels here, just those little ground ones.

 

[Di Gibbs]

I watched Fiji, a full grown hen (she's my avatar - don't tell the others she is my favorite) eat a scorpion the other day....are you talking just the babies don't do well with scorpions or is Fiji just lucky?
~Di

 

[pdx2phx]

I watched Fiji, a full grown hen (she's my avatar - don't tell the others she is my favorite) eat a scorpion the other day....are you talking just the babies don't do well with scorpions or is Fiji just lucky?
~Di

Ours love to eat scorpions, the only issue is when/if they actually get stung by them. We've had our full size, banty and serama chickens get stung and they all seem to react in the same way. The smaller hens were effected by the scorpion sting longer (a couple of days vs 1 day/overnight) for the big girls.

When they get stung (typically in the face) they'll start sneezing, kinda coughing/honking, shaking their head and progressively will have more labored breathing, start staggering like they're drunk and will eventually sit/lay down. They'll lose control in their legs and have spazms, too. They'll have mucus around their beaks and have rattled sounding breathing.

We have had great success with treating with Children's Benadryl (liquid). We keep a bottle on hand with our little chicken med kit (everyone with chickens in the desert should have some IMHO) It's always a bit of a guess on the dosage for us, since we have mostly smaller chickens. Most of the web info on dosing is for full sized hens.

We bring them inside and plan on at least overnight (maybe a day or two) dose them with the Benadryl ASAP in and watch them, you just have to make sure they don't spasm and kick themselves into their water, or into a position where their airway is blocked (laying on their face, for example). We make little towel doughnuts with holes in the middle for their legs to try and keep them from kicking themselves into bad positions. Typically the spasms last about 12 hours (overnight) then after that they're able to at least sit in their pen and rest.

I won't put them back out until they can walk and feed themselves normally, since the others might attack them. We had one who was inside for 3 days...she had a really bad sting and couldn't really eat normally for a few days. She would peck at the air, above her food. I wasn't sure if it was an eyesight/depth perception issue or what, but after another day she was fine and we put her back out. You might have to dip their beak in the water to make sure they get some, since the "air pecking" also goes for drinking too....

Hopefully this helps in case you ever have to deal with a sting!

 

[pdx2phx]

Rock squirrels can be a menace. I would suspect that an adult was taking the chicken body to the burrow to feed a brood of baby squirrels. This would be in the prime season for that as the juveniles have not yet dispersed. I would expect to find some kind of bite marks around the head/neck though. I also wonder if they prefer their prey to be dead for a period of time; they're known for eating road kill. That might explain why they hadn't yet been eaten. That is pure speculation though.

Sorry about your babies. Very sad

So sorry! I think you need to get rid of that squirrel.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts......we are hoping to get the squirrel today, although we don't really know where it's living exactly. Our shed is on a concrete slab, so hopefully he isn't burrowed underneath it...

. We can't get to the burrow entrance if that's the case because it would be on the back side in the tiny space where I found the pullet....

The other two young pullets are in a pen and Not Happy about it....keep looking at me and peeping madly with that "why are you torturing me" kind of cry....

 

[Novaleigh]

Round tailed ground squirrel. Found in abundance in AZ. I have personally seen a ground squirrel get hit by a car, then another ground squirrel go over to his downed buddy...and start eating him! Which, ironically, the cannibal squirrel was so in tune with eating the other squirrel, that it didn't run out of the way in time from an oncoming vehicle. Splat! Well...there lay two ground squirrels. A third ground squirrel came over and goes, oh yay! Double foods!

I don't know if they will hunt and kill chicks, but they sure thought cannibalism was great, so I wouldn't put it past them!