Did I poison my chickens?

[Jamsoundsgood]

We've been re-siding my house and found a large nest of carpenter ants underneath one of the windows. Well, my husband then proceeded to spray the ants and knock them out of the house onto the ground. The chickens of course came running to this awesome feast!

Now, my husband also informs me that they had also been pecking at the wood chips and pecking bugs out of insulation as well.

Now, I'm pretty sure they are coop-bound for the rest of the construction, but I'm not sure if the eggs are going to be ok or if we should toss them, and if so for how long? Should we give anything to the chickens for eating the poison-covered ants? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jjthink]

Eeks - not good. I would think some kind of flush for removing toxins but having not encountered this problem, I am not sure what would work best, if anything.
JJ

 

[suebee]

I would just wait and see. They may be fine. I wouldn't kill your husband since he didn't know any better. If the chickens act sick tomorrow, make sure they get plenty of fresh water with a few drops of molasses in it. I would definitely keep them away from the construction.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I had a similar issue with my chickens trying to eat old paint chips when I had to scrape before painting. I ended up putting a sheet on the ground (and keeping the chickens in the coop) till the painting was finished. I could then roll the sheet up so that none of the paint chips were left on the ground afterwards.

If they just ate a few ants each, they should be ok (depending on what was used to kill the ants). If it were me, I'd just keep a close eye on the chickens and make sure they have lots of food/water to help dilute the poison.