chicken ate rat bait

[flowerchicks]

I have been using Just One Bite rat bait under my shed, which is attached to the coop and part of the run. There was 1 1/2 bars left under the shed that I pulled out because there had been a skunk going under there and I didnt want the skunk to eat the bait. Well, I put them inside the shed, which is usually closed. Today I was working outside and had the doors open, I turned around and saw 2 of my chickens pecking at one of the bars . I don't think they ate much, they are pretty hard, and they didn't have access to them for very long, but I am sure they got some. How much would they have to eat to kill them? Is there anything I should do? I am freaking out here. I don't dare tell my DH, he didn't want to kill the rats in the first place.

 

[nurse_turtle]

You have to kill the rats. Large rats will kill your chickens while they sleep. If the chickens have ingested enough to die, they will be dead by morning and there's no antidote.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Oh geez! Keep them away from water! My buddies dog ate rat bait and was fine until she drank some water. Unfortunately she died shortly after. I have no idea how they'd have to eat to cause harm but I'm not thinking much That stuff is pretty effective and chickens are small. I'm sorry, I hope they'll be alright.

 

[flowerchicks]

thanks, I know the Just One Bite takes 2-4 days to kill rats, it wont take that long with chickens? I mean, if they are going to die I hope it's quickly, but I don't want to get my hopes up if they are fine tomorrow.

 

[dirtylittlefly]

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/

The ASPCA has a poison control line. It costs like, 25 bucks I think. I had to call to find out what to do when my dog got into Miracle grow fertilizer. They were very helpful and responsive and while they didn't give me any additional details I hadn't already googled, it sure gave me the piece of mind I needed to feel ok about by beloved pet.

Not sure if they specialize in poultry at all, but I'm sure they could give you good advise on whether or not to feed, give H2O, go to a vet immediately, that sort of thing. They certainly would tell you how specialized they were in poultry before you were obligated to pay.

 

[MamaRoo]

What's the active ingredient?


Quote: If these are 1 pound bars, there are ~ 500 mg/bar. If your chickens ate 1/100 of a bar, I would expect them to die.

 

[flowerchicks]

What's the active ingredient?


If these are 1 pound bars, there are ~ 500 mg/bar.  If your chickens ate 1/100 of a bar, I would expect them to die.

If I'm understanding this study correctly, the chickens were given daily doses of the poison. I guess I will just have wait and see what happens.

 

[MamaRoo]

Yes. But I would guess that 4 times the lethal 10 day dose would be pretty bad.

 

[pigeonguy]

This is probably to little to late. When my ferret ate rat poison (just one bite) my vet said to give it vitamin k. He said that is what it depletes in the body to kill things. I would call the vet or poison control.

 

[debid]

Some rat bait is arsenic-based which would kill quickly. Given your mention of 3-4 days to kill labeling, it sounds more like it's the blood thinner type which kills by the rodent bleeding out internally. While a bite might get a tiny mouse, a larger body would need a correspondingly larger dose to be affected. And yes, vitamin K would help if they ate more than a little.