Dead hens possible rat poison

[mrsdove]

On the 6th I lost my favorite laying hen. I found her in the box, very lethargic, took her inside where she later died. Then today (10th) the exact same thing happened to one of my bantams. I found her dead in the box. Only thing I can think of is they got ahold of a poisoned rat but I didn't think that could kill a chicken. Especially this far apart. Is there something else I should be looking around for. The were in a 10 hole nesting box and not in the same box. I've checked all around the box for poisonous spiders but its February and not exactly the season for that. All my chickens free range and the other 40 seem to be fine. They don't have access to the poison directly and I've since picked all the bait boxes up anyway. Something just seems a little off. Anything else you can think I check for. I also had a young billy goat die on the 9th from urinary calculi but I can't imagine that being related to this at all. Things are definitely dying in 3s around here. On a positive note, I was missing a young maran and heard a noise behind a wall. Got a ladder and she managed to get down inside the wall. Glad I was able to get her.

 

[17 chickens]

I never use bait because the rats or mice ear it the wonder off and die, Then other animals find them eat them and get sick and die. Did you find any dead mice in the goats water?
If you can set snap traps for them in protected areas or get the metal boxes that trap them. Sorry for you loss!

 

[WhiteWyan]

Dying in the nest box makes me think egg got stuck inside?? Did you check for egg retention in the vent area?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome, and so sorry! Look carefully at your birds when they are roosting, with a flashlight, for any mites or lice. That's something that will kill some birds, and is fixable.
Can you necropsy your dead birds, or better yet, have it done? Your state veterinary school path lab would be a very good choice. It's good to know what the problem actually is.
Sometimes birds die, for many reasons, and that's part of having a flock. I always want to know what happened, so if there's a problem, I can work to fix it.
Sometimes it's necessary to use poison bait, and it is a risk. Most rodents will die in their burrows, fortunately, out of reach.
Rats are dangerous and will kill chickens too. Tighten up your coop security so they can't get back inside.
Mary

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings mrsdove,

And welcome to BYC.

So sorry you are going through such a distressing situation.

Yes, eating a poisoned rat can kill a chicken. But, it depends on whether they ate the internal organs, such as the liver, which will have a heavy saturation of the poison, also the intestines. Some of the newer poisons are potent neurotoxins that kill within twenty four hours. Then, there are the anticouagulants, which cause the chicken to essentially bleed to death, internally. But there are other poisons chickens can get into as well, gasoline, antifreeze, and pesticides, are just a few.

Maybe, the poison wasn't even the cause of death.

If you are in an area where the weather has been unusually cold, they could have contracted an upper respiratory illness that you didn't notice. It could have been so many other things that killed the two hens. With over 40 chickens, I can imagine how difficult it would be to keep track of all that goes on with them.

To protect the rest of the flock, now you do need to try and determine what caused them to die. A necropsy is something you should have done by a Vet or state lab. Or, perhaps you can do it yourself?


These are my thoughts on this issue. I hope they are helpful.

God Bless

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Dying in the nest box makes me think egg got stuck inside?? Did you check for egg retention in the vent area?

Not necessarily...ailing birds will seek quiet, isolated spaces...like tthe nest box, so being there at time of death is not indicative of cause of death being production related

 

[rebrascora]

As others have said, we could speculate all day about what may have caused it. The advice to get a necropsy done or do it yourself is wise. If you do it yourself, take photos of everything as there are some of us here at BYC who are becoming more experienced at looking at the internal workings of a chicken and may be able to help you figure it out.
There can be significant benefits for the rest of your flock in figuring it out.... things like dietary change or worming your flock might be indicated by what you find. It also can give you peace of mind, so definitely worth doing in my opinion.