Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[ChickenAl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/558357/vent-gleet-treatments

Sorry, here's the link, Rich. Good luck.

 

[goldeneggtees]

I couldn't watch it. Makes me want to hurt someone.

Me too! Or drop everything and start volunteering to help abused, neglected animals. I think that was what I was really put on this earth for.

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, I have way too many responsibilities here at home to do that, but sometimes, I wish I could. Instead, I donate small amounts and hope to heck it goes to the right place.

 

[JerseyHen]

Someone please tell me I am crazy. So we had this whole fox episode and we secured the chickens and set out a trap. Then someone of my friends has to say to me "wow, I hope it wasn't rabid and you picked up those chickens afterward".

So, me, always the one to be worried about cross contamination in almost all things, cripes, it takes me a half hour to get out of a public bathroom secondary to the "protocols" that must be followed... didn't even register that on the day or day after the massacre. So, I call the doc, doc says "gee, I don't know, go to the er and see what they say", so I go to the er. The PA says "well, either way you can have the vaccination", the head nurse says "I wouldn't have the vaccination unless you absolutely must because it is really nasty", the doc says "we have to call the NYS dept of health to get approval", NYS dept of health says "it happened in NJ so you have to call them", NJ dept of health says "probably 0 risk, but the doc must make the call", the doc, after pondering this for 3 hours finally comes to the room and says, wait for it.... "it is up to you"

and people wonder what is wrong with our healthcare system (I am a doc btw, but a musculoskeletal type, not an infectious disease specialist).

Here is my dilemma. Haven't caught the fox yet, saw him 2 times though and he looks fine, just not very fearful. It may or may not have rabies (animal control and dept of health say it doesn't sound like it), it may or may not have gotten slobber on the chickens that I handled, it may or may not have been viable virus if it was present, it may or may not have gotten on my hands, it may or may not have then gotten in my eyes, nose, mouth, or open wound before I washed.

Do I vaccinate? I have a few more days before I must make a final decision. The issue is less for me, but more for my 5 year old who picked up her favorite girl who was rolled by the fox (despite me telling her not to, the one time she refuses to listen, right)? Do I put her through the rabies shots for this astronomically low risk? Balancing the fact that rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms begin. If the vaccine didn't carry its own set of risks, it would be a no brainer.

If I could get a look at the fox today, I will be pretty sure we are safe (they usually die within 7 days of being infectious, at minimum it would be obviously acting oddly).

Anyway, if you stuck with this little diatribe this far: reminder not to handle any secondary objects that may or may not have come into contact with an unknown animals mouth. TELL YOUR KIDS TOO!

 

[goldeneggtees]

OMG! That's a tough one! I say try and catch the fox with bait and trap! Bring him in to be tested, dead or alive. Maybe that sounds crazy but yikes, do you have a choice?

 

[goldeneggtees]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/558357/vent-gleet-treatments
Sorry, here's the link, Rich. Good luck.

I think Large Marge has this, every time she starts laying, she gets a dirty butt, with swollen underside, I never knew the cause or that there was a fix.

 

[ChickenAl]

Hey everyone, been too busy to post here. I saw the post about Mt. lions and bears. The DEC doesn't deny bears in our area at all. As a matter of act last fall they introduced a bear hunting season all the way down as far as he Westchester/NYC border line. I have had many bears on my property in the last 12 years, on the deck and also front porch. 3 years ago my wife and her friend were walking for some exercise and they surprised a bear on the side of the road in front of our house. This bear actually mock charged them both. He was tagged on his ear and we got the # and reported to DEC. They told us this was a nuisance bear that was in Peekskill the prior year and relocated to Fahnestock state park which is about 8 miles from us. They gave me rubber buckshot to shot him as to scare it away. Never had to use it. All the other bears I have seen (probably 8 or 9) simply run off when I yell at them. This one was very aggressive. As for lions, well I have  2 sightings one on my property and 1 in Lake Carmel off RT 52 above the old batting cage. Scarred the hell out of me. Now I have been a hunter for 30 years and seen bobcats and these were not bobcats. Any way they are here and doing well. 
PS, did anyone catch the Fox 5 news cast about the Mt lion in Holmes NY? That guy lives less than 1 mile from me.

Rich, I was just past the batting cages today. Swampy in parts of that area. A friend of mine saw one on Mt. Ninham about 20years ago. My wife and neighbor saw one cross the road behind our house.

My son saw a cougar dead on 84 in '05. That one I reported and it started off a chain of emails and a printing in a newspaper in Albany. I wish I had all the emails still, and the denials by the DEC. I found that link this morning, but I'm still trying to find the one a couple years later that made the DEC fess up.

 

[ChickenAl]

Someone please tell me I am crazy. So we had this whole fox episode and we secured the chickens and set out a trap. Then someone of my friends has to say to me "wow, I hope it wasn't rabid and you picked up those chickens afterward". :/  So, me, always the one to be worried about cross contamination in almost all things, cripes, it takes me a half hour to get out of a public bathroom secondary to the "protocols" that must be followed... didn't even register that on the day or day after the massacre. So, I call the doc, doc says "gee, I don't know, go to the er and see what they say", so I go to the er. The PA says "well, either way you can have the vaccination", the head nurse says "I wouldn't have the vaccination unless you absolutely must because it is really nasty", the doc says "we have to call the NYS dept of health to get approval", NYS dept of health says "it happened in NJ so you have to call them", NJ dept of health says "probably 0 risk, but the doc must make the call", the doc, after pondering this for 3 hours finally comes to the room and says, wait for it.... "it is up to you"  and people wonder what is wrong with our healthcare system (I am a doc btw, but a musculoskeletal type, not an infectious disease specialist).

Here is my dilemma. Haven't caught the fox yet, saw him 2 times though and he looks fine, just not very fearful. It may or may not have rabies (animal control and dept of health say it doesn't sound like it), it may or may not have gotten slobber on the chickens that I handled, it may or may not have been viable virus if it was present, it may or may not have gotten on my hands, it may or may not have then gotten in my eyes, nose, mouth, or open wound before I washed.

Do I vaccinate? I have a few more days before I must make a final decision. The issue is less for me, but more for my 5 year old who picked up her favorite girl who was rolled by the fox (despite me telling her not to, the one time she refuses to listen, right)? Do I put her through the rabies shots for this astronomically low risk? Balancing the fact that rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms begin. If the vaccine didn't carry its own set of risks, it would be a no brainer.

If I could get a look at the fox today, I will be pretty sure we are safe (they usually die withinould 7 days of being infectious, at minimum it would be obviously acting oddly).

Anyway, if you stuck with this little diatribe this far: reminder not to handle any secondary objects that may or may not have come into contact with an unknown animals mouth. TELL YOUR KIDS TOO!

Jersey, that is a tough call. If you can't trap the fox, then you may have to shoot it, if it is legal to do so where you live. They need the brain to determine if it has rabies, so the animal will get destroyed anyway.

Good luck, I hope it is not rabid for everyone's sake.

 

[Toxic Chicken]

Rich, I was just past the batting cages today. Swampy in parts of that area. A friend of mine saw one on Mt. Ninham about 20years ago. My wife and neighbor saw one cross the road behind our house.
My son saw a cougar dead on 84 in '05. That one I reported and it started off a chain of emails and a printing in a newspaper in Albany. I wish I had all the emails still, and the denials by the DEC. I found that link this morning, but I'm still trying to find the one a couple years later that made the DEC fess up.

Oh my gosh. Well I'm not gonna complain about the wild life preserve 2 houses away.
all we have are raccoons fox possum hawlks maybe eagle oh and wild turkey.
Little buggers. Thank god.

Bears lions tigers OH MY
I'd wouldn't leave the house without a gun and a few
mean dogs for distraction.

Vent gleet. Maybe feed her some cod liver oil.
/ shrug. I'm just guessing never even heard of it
but at least it can't hurt her. Poor hen

 

[Toxic Chicken]

Ooh it's a yeast infection! Poor girl.
Give her probiotics like Phillips colon health,
It has acidophilus in it. Or feed her yogurt.

 

[JerseyHen]

I have the fox trap set out (completely legal to shoot it if I want to, state police and animal control gave me the go ahead). I would rather not, but I need to know if we need the shots. I put the trap in the compost pile where it has been seen hunting for small rodents, covered it with leaf litter and compost, covered the floor of it too, and baited it with stinky cat food. Send me thoughts and prayers on this one. I don't want to put my DD through the shots if we don't have too...