Preparing for dead chickens/chicks tomorrow

[TJAnonymous]

It rained earlier today and then the sun came out this evening. I walked out to the coop to refill the free choice feeder only to have something white catch my eye. It was sticking out from a hole along the foundation of the coop. Upon closer inspection I realized it was a mushroom... And not just any mushroom but I suspect it's a Destroying Angel Anamita which is incredibly poisonous. There's a giant oak tree growing directly behind my coop plus the mushroom fits the description (white cap, white gills). Sadly, it appears the chickens had eaten part of it. I don't know which chicken(s) or chick(s) nibbled at it. No one appears sick so far but naturally I'm very concerned.... This is the first time I've ever seen any mushroom growing in my chicken yard, let alone anything poisonous....

 

[SilverBirds]

Oh dear. Do you happen to have a picture of the mushrooms?

 

[RubelliteRose]

Hoping everyone will be ok.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh dear. Do you happen to have a picture of the mushrooms?

I don't... I chucked it in a burn pile.

The only reason why I recognized this mushroom is because I picked a half dozen meadow mushrooms (non-poisonous) in my horse pasture yesterday. My DH was worried they were toxic so I took pictures and sent them to our county extension office and mycological society for proper identification. The Destroying Angel Anamita is often confused with a meadow mushroom because they look almost identical. They are differentiated by their gill and spore colors.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Oh no! Please update us in the morning.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well the good news is there were no dead chicks or adults this morning. The bad news is the spot where my 8 week old chicks sleep in the coop has a little bit of bloody poop. Not sure if that is due to the mushroom or something else like coccidiosis. I don't even know which chick it might be from... I'll just have to keep checking on them throughout the day.