Garden Beetles toxic to waterfowl???

[Cottage Rose]

I just read this!
"A word of warning to folks who keep free-range poultry:
Rose Chafers can poison and kill poultry and other birds."
No further explaination was offered.

I have tons of Rose Chafers right now and my 3 week old Runner Ducklings have been gobbling them up!
Does anybody know anything about this?
I'm freaking out!

 

[Amiga]

Breathe.

How long have they been eating the chafers? I found that reference, but no other on chafer toxicity. On the up side, I am sure they are not living on chafers. They have a balanced ration you provide, yes, and plenty of water?

Keep an eye on them, check on their output. You may want to contact a duck research center or avian vet and get them to verify or rebut the claim. Too bad internet claims are not always backed up with primary source information.

I tried getting my runners to eat red lily leaf beetles. They looked at them and then at me as if to say, "You have GOT to be kidding," and walked away.

Slugs, now, that's a different story . . .

 

[Cottage Rose]

Found this:
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG189/html/Rose_Chafer.HTML

Apparently it is true. They contain a chemical called cantharidin, a blistering agent. It didn't say how many beetles would have to be eaten to cause a problem and only referred to problems with horses injesting Blister Beetle contaminated hay.

 

[Whowho]

I just read this!
"A word of warning to folks who keep free-range poultry:
Rose Chafers can poison and kill poultry and other birds."
No further explaination was offered.

I have tons of Rose Chafers right now and my 3 week old Runner Ducklings have been gobbling them up!
Does anybody know anything about this?
I'm freaking out!

Did your runner ducks live??