- Jan 3, 2015
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Hello all, I am new to this site, however I have had backyard chickens for about 35 years. I have a warning to send out!!!! We had a chicken die of lead poisoning. We had a rotten digger pine stump in the corral that was used for target practice years ago from the previous owners. It had holes pecked in it from wood peckers so I did not notice the bullet holes too. It started to get rotten and I pushed it into a pile to burn, but I wanted to let the chickens rummage thru and get the grubs out first. Well you know what happened, they got some of the 22 bullets out also.
One of my chickens got very lethargic and had lost weight so we took her to the vet. Now we would not have taken her to an emergency vet hospital for a sick feeling chicken $$$$. However over the last couple of months we lost two other hens and we thought we had a disease going threw them. Their deaths were a little different we just found them dead in the coop. They had not presented the same lethargic symptoms as this latest one had. She had progressed to far to save, so after having her put down and sent for a Necropsy at UC Davis in California at $350 for the vet office bill and the shipping for the bird, they reported she had died of lead poisoning from several 22 bullets that were found in her stomach. My Dr. was shocked at the findings she thought of several other possibilities. I went on a cleanup in the corral and spent about 2 days or so with my metal detector digging up bullets, shotgun shot, jacketed bullets. I got even the tiniest pieces of lead I could find. It was grueling work but it was the only way to try and correct the years of the wrong thing that was done. I guess it was an easy thing to overlook, we like to let our chickens out and in the corrals to get grass and bugs. We never thought they would get sick from eating something out there. Our chickens have done that for years and they love it.
Sorry for the long post, however this is a horrible death to suffer, and I wanted to tell you all about my stupid mistake to help others not have it happen to them. Please think about the areas that they roam, they will pick up anything they see, good or bad.
Made in USA 1
We love chickens, don't you!!
One of my chickens got very lethargic and had lost weight so we took her to the vet. Now we would not have taken her to an emergency vet hospital for a sick feeling chicken $$$$. However over the last couple of months we lost two other hens and we thought we had a disease going threw them. Their deaths were a little different we just found them dead in the coop. They had not presented the same lethargic symptoms as this latest one had. She had progressed to far to save, so after having her put down and sent for a Necropsy at UC Davis in California at $350 for the vet office bill and the shipping for the bird, they reported she had died of lead poisoning from several 22 bullets that were found in her stomach. My Dr. was shocked at the findings she thought of several other possibilities. I went on a cleanup in the corral and spent about 2 days or so with my metal detector digging up bullets, shotgun shot, jacketed bullets. I got even the tiniest pieces of lead I could find. It was grueling work but it was the only way to try and correct the years of the wrong thing that was done. I guess it was an easy thing to overlook, we like to let our chickens out and in the corrals to get grass and bugs. We never thought they would get sick from eating something out there. Our chickens have done that for years and they love it.
Sorry for the long post, however this is a horrible death to suffer, and I wanted to tell you all about my stupid mistake to help others not have it happen to them. Please think about the areas that they roam, they will pick up anything they see, good or bad.
Made in USA 1
We love chickens, don't you!!
