Chickens Died After Eating Wolf Spiders without Killing First

[Gomes Bantams]

As my well-experienced grandpa said with a shrug, they could have choked on the spiders.

 

[smilinggoat]

Lol. I guess that is one way of looking at is. It isn't funny but it is

 

[theoldchick]

I'm still befuddled by this. I'm not sure why the chicken would die if bitten while swallowing as opposed to ingesting a crushed spider whom did not bite but contains the venom anyway? No, I'm not being mean, I'm trying to reason this out.

Anyway, I still want to see a picture of these spiders just to determine what species they actually are.

 

[Pozees]

I'm still befuddled by this. I'm not sure why the chicken would die if bitten while swallowing as opposed to ingesting a crushed spider whom did not bite but contains the venom anyway? No, I'm not being mean, I'm trying to reason this out.

Anyway, I still want to see a picture of these spiders just to determine what species they actually are.

Agree - to me, basement = brown recluse ...

 

[LaynaDon95]

I have wolf and Black widow spiders ALL over the property, and while I've never seen my chickens eat them, they must have at some point. We have precisely 64.5 bajillion of them. Especially wolf spiders. If you take a flashlight outside at night and shine it in the grass it literally looks like the grass is sparkling from all the millions of spider eyes. I scared the evr loving bajesus out of me when I figured out that's what I was seeing, especially seeing as I was barefoot... :\ But, back to the point. I doubt it was the spiders that did it. I mean, if they are in fact wold spiders, but it sounds to me like it may be brown recluse spiders you are seeing and not wolf. Can you post a pic?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I'm still befuddled by this. I'm not sure why the chicken would die if bitten while swallowing as opposed to ingesting a crushed spider whom did not bite but contains the venom anyway? No, I'm not being mean, I'm trying to reason this out.

Anyway, I still want to see a picture of these spiders just to determine what species they actually are.

If the chicken gets bitten by the spider the venom goes into the bird's blood stream. If it is enough venom and the kind of venom that affects chickens, they will die. If they ingest a spider that is full of venom the venom simply goes through their digestive system and is then broken down before it is absorbed rendering it safe.

 

[ladynthestamp]

I think that happened to our buff orpington today. 24 hours after my daughter saw her loudly struggling to eat a big funky "hairy bug with 8 eyes", the buff went limp, threw up, had diarrhea, and died. She hid in the coop all day. It was raining so we thought nothing if it, until my son went to pick her up.

 

[Theycrackmeup]

Smilinggoat, one of the French Black Copper Marans given to us had bumblefoot from being kept in a cramped coup with a wire cloth floor. Wire cloth and concrete are the two major causes of bumblefoot. It happens when their feet scrub across these textures and become infected. Antibiotics given orally should kill the staph infection and shrink the foot pads down to near normal. It doesn't get rid of the plug which is scar tissue and is harmless. My vet keeps Ducks and Swans at his hospital in a room with wet concrete floors, a pond and a waterfall. His Swans are most susceptable because of their size and weight. He repeatedly treats them with antibiotics. My hen was prescribed Baytril and in a week her swelling went down to the point that her rear toes would once again touch the ground. She seems just fine now.