poisoned chickens?

[iron john]

hi, i just joined because im freaking out that i may have poisoned my childrens chickens....
we are new to owning chooks, and i didnt think before i sprayed the inside of my lawn locker, which was full of cockroaches, with mortien fast kill.
i closed it up and walked away, but came back a short time later and the chickens were gathered near the door, i ran over and saw that some of the roaches had escaped and were being eaten.
the chooks dont look sick, but im really worried.
what can i do to make sure they dont get sick from it??!?
please get back to me soon, i really dont want them to get sick.
john.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Yikes. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but you may have sealed their fate. Our neighbor sprinkled some granules all around her house to kill ants. She got rid of the ants, and lost most of her chickens in the process.

Possibly because you used a spray, the casualties may be less. Keep them away from the area you sprayed, make sure they don't run out of water and feed. Maybe any that was ingested will flush thru quickly.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out. And don't beat yourself up if anything does happen. I've made mistakes too. I learn from them.

 

[iron john]

Thanks for replying. I'm sick with worry that my girls will wake up in the morning and find their little chooks lifeless bodies.
doesn't help that I'm not at home and can't monitor them. They only just started laying and we're my twin daughters 8th birthday present.
I've looked into the active ingredients, and they are pirethrin and allethrin but working out whether they are toxic enough to kill our three friends.

 

[shortgrass]

Depending on how many poisoned bugs they ate, they should be ok...pyrethrin and allethrin both have low toxicity to humans and birds, albeit some skin and possible lung irritation. They may not feel well for a bit, but exposure shouldn't have been enough to cause death.

Do be sure to give them plenty of fresh clean water and some fresh feed, maybe even a treat like oatmeal or cooked egg yolk, if anything, to gauge how their appetites are. You also might consider tossing the eggs for a few days, just in case they got "tainted", but I don't know for sure whether pyrethrins can be carried over into the egg, so that may need further looking into.

Accidents happen, just take a deep breath and watch them is all you can do. Best wishes, hope they turn out ok.

 

[iron john]

Thankyou for your reply, I'll give them a treat in the morning. I'm still at work but I'm going to check on them when I get home at 11pm.
I honestly never thought I'd get so attached to a trio of chickens!
They really have become a part of the family very quickly.
Thanks, John.
I'll keep you updated.

 

[shortgrass]

It's funny how that happens; they become part of the family for sure

Kids are incredibly resilient, too. There may eventually be tears shed and birds lost, but the experience for kids to learn about more than what they see on TV is priceless. And there's nothing wrong with admitting to them that mistakes can be made by even the most conscious of owners; just ask my kids, who have witnessed chicks accidentally drowned, broodies smothering entire clutches, chickens having heart attacks, and losing 17 ducks in 2 nights from a weasel. And this was all just in the last 6 months....

It's been a rough summer

 

[iron john]

They are fine. What a relief!
Sorry to hear about your terrible summer!
I'm glad I found this resource and community through it!

 

[Outpost JWB]

That is a relief! For future reference, the chickens will eat all your bugs. I get such a kick watching mine chase after me & hubby when we mow. Chasing down every bug they can.

 

[shortgrass]

Great! Glad to hear they are doing OK

Yep, this is a great little place to get pointers and help when you need it, and nobody will give you a hard time when you find yourself with a "chicken math" problem down the road; these birds can be downright addictive lol

 

[iron john]

The head chook, top of the pecking order, has now confined herself to the nesting box.
her comb seems to have gone a bit droopy.
she seems of physically but gets all pecky when we approach her.
has she gone broody? Or is she sick and wants to be alone?