Beware of the Bradford Pear Trees

[centrarchid]

Tree Issues First. Maybe it did, maybe it did not. Bradford Pears gonna die by dull hatched, yeah! My hands are really hurting cause got too cold! My son and dogs helping out.

Behind dog in his first good photograph ever is the alleged killer. It is just under 30 feet tall. To tight are more of same that Edgar has used as a roost on occasion. They will die too.

Branch Edgar uses most nights. To access it he must fly vertically from ground about 8' and then branch bends down to just over 6'. Branch alignment with Edgar loading. Branches have some thorns, not many. Most have bud growing near tip.

He was literally laying in same spot last night although his legs where hanging down. If he flopped much he should have fallen out of tree. I do not see where he could have been hung.

Another tree with more thorns although most near base and trunk.

Same tree which is about 9' tall.

This is a thornier version, a real bastard. It is like this through out tree. Real fun to mow around.

Same tree from distance. We have tried to kill it a few times. Gasoline and matches time for this guy.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

Tree Issues First. Maybe it did, maybe it did not. Bradford Pears gonna die by dull hatched, yeah! My hands are really hurting cause got too cold! My son and dogs helping out.

Behind dog in his first good photograph ever is the alleged killer. It is just under 30 feet tall. To tight are more of same that Edgar has used as a roost on occasion. They will die too.
View attachment 1622101
Branch Edgar uses most nights. To access it he must fly vertically from ground about 8' and then branch bends down to just over 6'. Branch alignment with Edgar loading. Branches have some thorns, not many. Most have bud growing near tip.
View attachment 1622104
He was literally laying in same spot last night although his legs where hanging down. If he flopped much he should have fallen out of tree. I do not see where he could have been hung.
View attachment 1622106
Another tree with more thorns although most near base and trunk.
View attachment 1622107 Same tree which is about 9' tall.
View attachment 1622111
This is a thornier version, a real bastard. It is like this through out tree. Real fun to mow around.
View attachment 1622112
Same tree from distance. We have tried to kill it a few times. Gasoline and matches time for this guy.
View attachment 1622114

I'm following your progress with the B.pears with great interest. Here it the one in our backyard showing growth of less than 1 year. We chopped it to the ground and prepped the yard to be as safe as possible. The yard is the only place on our 2 acres where our flock can free range for now. We will be fencing a large part of it so dogs etc will stay away during "recess"

 

[JanetMarie]

Oh yeah, mowing around invasive thorned trees is real treat! Black Locust here.

 

[glasslady78]

Never thought about them from a "chicken" standpoint, but I don't and won't have a Bradford pear on my property.
https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/life/2016/03/21/curse-bradford-pear/82070210/

Good to know, So sorry for the death of a precious pet bird.

 

[centrarchid]

The victim, Edgar of Line D Strain WW Shuffler. Cock five years, weight 5 lbs 7 oz, brown-breasted brown red.

This was not a proper necropsy. Scapel normally used to extract earbones from fish so very dull. Son had fun learning about upper digestive tract in chickens.


First we removed feathers of breast and neck. Edgar is in decent condition. No puncture wounds evident. Crop fill complete as typical for going to roost.

He has scarring on ventral side of neck.

Heat dumping organ (red area I do not know proper name for) looks really good.

Beak issue that he has had for three years. Did impact ability to consume small particulates and manage feathers. Images to be used later for another purpose.

Pup nosing around as I perform dissection.

Crop exposed. Very full and typical for birds prepping for long cold night. Remember winter solstice.

Gizzard, liver and heart look OK. I deleted wrong image.

Gizzard with digesta and gastroliths evident which indicates crop emptying / no obstruction.

Crop mostly with pellets and crumble with some shell corn and two rabbit turds (coprophagy). The other free-range birds would have a lot more fibrous plant materials that Edgar can not readily consume because of his damaged beak. No evidence of Night Shade berries.

 

[centrarchid]

I do not know what killed him. An apparently healthy game rooster kicked the bucket immediately after accessing roost and he did not fall out of tree. My brother wondered if an owl clipped him but that would have caused a lot more commotion and left marks I could easily see once feathers removed. Will store this to memory.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

We have those to, state tree for Missouri. Only a couple at edge of woods so not a problem. The Honey Locust do take out lawn tractor tires when you drive over them a lot.

X2 on the honey locust. We had a whole grove of them on the site of an old barn. Cows and deer love the seed pods though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I do not know what killed him. An apparently healthy game rooster kicked the bucket immediately after accessing roost and he did not fall out of tree. My brother wondered if an owl clipped him but that would have caused a lot more commotion and left marks I could easily see once feathers removed. Will store this to memory.

Were all kidney segments symmetrical?

 

[centrarchid]

Were all kidney segments symmetrical?

I did not look at renal parts. I am assuming degraded kidney function would not result in dropping dead on the spot, rather a decline where he would show clear signs well before death.

 

[centrarchid]

Were all kidney segments symmetrical?

What health issues would effect kidney morphology, especially those that could cause rapid decline? I still have bird.