Chicken ate rat poison

[Stressd owner]

4 chickens (1-5 yr, 2- 2yr, 1- 4 months) may have eaten rat bait that was previously digested by rat. Per Pest control it is JT Eaton Bait Block Diphacinone .005%. Ccontacted 8+ Vets but no one is available. Was suggested to try to get them to eat alfalfa for Vit k. Was referred to FARAD they only had studies based on owl consuming poison. Those studies indicate that poison would remain in body for 300 days and continue to store in liver and released into egg production. Indication is that eggs and meat is not consumable for those with cardiac or blood issues. Does anyone know if there is a difference between owl and chicken processing poison? If the poison would still be maintained in chicken and passed to eggs. Is there anything that can be done to save chickens. TIA.

 

[cavemanrich]

may have eaten rat bait that was previously digested by rat.

You are not sure,,,,, and I don't know if there is much you can do for your chickens at this [point.
You write previously digested by rats,,,,, Does that translate to rat droppings???

Check with your doctor about health concerns eating your chickens, and eggs.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[gtaus]

Welcome to the BYC forums. Sorry it is under these conditions.

A chicken's digestive system is short and fast. If they ingest some poison via rat droppings and are still alive hours later, chances are the chickens already passed it out through their backend, too. If you are concerned about poison in their system affecting their eggs, then I would suggest contacting the company that makes that rat poison and see if anyone there can offer you guidance.

Because I have had many small animals over the years, I have always used other methods of pest control and stayed away from poisons. So, I cannot speak from personal experience on the exact steps you should take. But I would think that going directly to the customer service of the rat poison product may be one place to start. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

Another benefit of keeping my chickens confined to their chicken run is that I know that are not exposed to any chemicals or poisons. Lots of people talk about the benefits of free ranging their chickens, but there are many benefits to keeping them confined to a safe run, too.

 

[dawg53]

You can also call the Georgia Poultry Lab in Tifton, Georgia and explain the situation to them and hopefully get an answer. Here's a link:
https://www.gapoultrylab.org/locations/tifton/

 

[theoldchick]

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition...take generally 3,decrease or loss in appetite.

 

[gtaus]

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/rodenticide-toxicity#:~:text=It will take generally 3,decrease or loss in appetite.

Good article if your chicken eats rat poison.

What I cannot find is if the rat poison can be passed via rat droppings. I found lots of articles saying that eating a poisoned rat can make your chicken sick, but I did not find much talk about rat poo passing on the poison. In any case, Diphacinone is an anti-coagulant type of poison and vitamin K would be the treatment. Don't know how much a person can do this point for the chicken, but still suspect that a small amount of rat poo ingested by a chicken is probably not as potent as eating the poison itself.

@Stressd owner, hope you keep us updated on the status of your chickens.

 

[Stressd owner]

You can also call the Georgia Poultry Lab in Tifton, Georgia and explain the situation to them and hopefully get an answer. Here's a link:
https://www.gapoultrylab.org/locations/tifton/

THANK YOU! Just called and was able to talk to the Dr there. This is the first one I have been able to talk to. She feels that the chickens did not digest enough but to monitor them for signs. So I'm going to take one day at a time.