Very sick Cockerel.

[colandjulie]

Hi,

Just returned home from a weeks holiday to find our Cockerel more than half dead.

Very very pale, extremely lethargic and has light green diahorrea (water)

Took him to our vets and he gave him some antibiotics and some other drugs.

The poor guy is extremely thin but he is eating and drinking and has food in his crop.

We have recently dealt with an infestation of rats (hey, we have chickens, gotta expect rats) but I am 99.9% sure there is no way the chickens could have got to the poison as it was in a closed and enclosed greenhouse.

The Cockerels comb is very pale but is darker on the ends and very floppy.

If it helps I can attach some pictures, but please, if anyone has any ideas let us know!!

Just out of curiosity, are potato plant leaves in any way dangerous to chickens as they have access to these.

Cheers.

 

[dlhunicorn]

The poison will be left in any droppings which your bird may have pecked at. I suggest you call your vet and tell him this (I suspect he will give a supplement of vit K which will help with internal bleeding)

 

[colandjulie]

Still don't know what was wrong with him but it proved fatal.

He died overnight.

Very sad day for us.

He was only 9 months old.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I'm wondering about the potato vines. Potato is in the nightshade family and could prove fatal I believe. I could be wrong about this...I'll do some research.

 

[colandjulie]

If you would that would be very helpful as the girls still have access to them!

I'll fence them off for now!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Effect in Animals:
Common Name: Nightshade (includes several varieties, the most common being Deadly Nightshade, Black Nightshade, and Silverleaf Nightshade)
Scientific Name: Solanum spp
Family: Solanaceae
Toxic Principle: solanine, saponins, atropine like substances
Clinical signs: hypersalivation, inappetence, severe gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea, drowsiness, CNS depression, confusion, behavioral change, weakness, dilated pupils, slow heart rate.


This is info I got from another website:

Kathleen Anderson said...
Re: Potato Vine and Chickens

Hello Gina, I wanted to share some information. I had my Plymouth Barred Rock hen named Lucy die suddenly and became very concerned that potato vine covering the fully enclosed pen might have poisoned her. The vine is in the family of deadly nightshade plants. I called the Ag Commissioner and got to talk with the biologist. He checked and did not see anything toxic but said he would investigate further. Potato vine is not toxic to poultry but it is toxic cattle, horses and goats. The conversation concluded that Lucy probably died of old age or possibly a stroke/embolism kind of thing. I did not realize that chickens have high blood pressure...learn something everyday!! Really miss Lucy she was very animated and acted like she understood what you were talking about...very engaging chicken.