Chickens Eating Black Widow Spiders

[Nifty-Chicken]

Hey Guys,

An interesting topic: What happens when a chicken eats a black widow spider? Does it effect the chicken? What about the eggs?

BTW... I'll never stop being amazed at the fact that my chickens are eating bugs and weeds around my house and turning this junk into eggs.

Simply amazing!

 

[Wes in Tx]

In all my years of raising birds I have never had one effected from eating any type of spider. I guess it may be possible that the poision of the spider could effect the birds but I have never seen it.

 

[Rik]

I could be wrong but i think the chickens stomach acid neutralize the poison. like the way some people eat blue ring octopus with no ill effects.

 

[chickchair]

Rik is correct...the spider venom is only harmful when it is injected (bite) and is denatured when swallowed... (harmless)

 

[eggchel]

Well, my chickens are really slackers cuz we have a billion black widows here. Of course our black widows are pretty good at hiding under stuff. Needless to say, we are pretty careful when we reach under stuff or turn stuff over in the yard.
Once, I turned over the bottom half of a plastic dog house (I use them for goose nests) and on the bottom were something like 16 black widows. The bottom had a sunburst shape of molded plastic ridges and each separate area had its own resident B.W. spider. Usually I ignore them, but that spider town got a blast of Raid!
<shiver
Still creeps me out, and Im not usually spider-phobic.

chel

 

[papakris]

Wow, another good reason to have CHICKENS around the house, within reason of course!

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

I do not recall my chickens ever eating a black widow spider though they love spiders. Last year they did catch a small snake maybe 6 or 7 inches long they fought over it and chase the chicken with the snake until one of them swallow it. I had thought it was a worm at first.

 

[HenHappy]

One of mine attempted to swallow a frog. I had to chase her all over the yard to try to get it away from her. Don't you love the proud "I've got the dead thing" run? Keep away between chickens is my summer entertainmany!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I hear all these stories about chickens eating mice, small rats, moles, golphers, frogs, etc. so I decided to post this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=621

 

[HenHappy]

OMG!!!! That's incredible! We don't get lizards like that in Canada. I've got the willies just looking at the pictures! I can't wait to see the video!! I have got to get a camera. I can't wait for others to see my lovies and apreciate them. No one I know has chickens, so they all think I'm nuts the way I go on about them. I LOVE this site!!!