Hi all,
A few days ago while my flock was free ranging, one of my older (elderly, really) hens found a dead, mostly decomposed mouse nearby the coop. I tried to get it away from her but as soon as she got it she took off running and went under a shed where I couldn’t get to her. She ate the whole thing and now, a couple days later, seems off. She has been hiding out in the coop, lethargic, and won’t touch any food- not even dried mealworms, which as many of you know is always a favorite with just about any chicken. I suspect the dead mouse she ate has something to do with it, given the timeline. She has no other symptoms, just lethargic and lack of appetite for the last two days. She’s also quite old (at least 6 or 7 years) so that concerns me. Is this just something she needs to pass in her digestive system or should I be more concerned? Is there anything I can do to help make her more comfortable? I suspect maybe adding ACV to their water (which I often do anyways) might help.
For those concerned about mouse poisoning- we live out in the middle of the sticks with only a few neighbors down the road, and I don’t have mouse poison set out, so the chances that the mouse she consumed had been previously poisoned are pretty low I’d say.
A few days ago while my flock was free ranging, one of my older (elderly, really) hens found a dead, mostly decomposed mouse nearby the coop. I tried to get it away from her but as soon as she got it she took off running and went under a shed where I couldn’t get to her. She ate the whole thing and now, a couple days later, seems off. She has been hiding out in the coop, lethargic, and won’t touch any food- not even dried mealworms, which as many of you know is always a favorite with just about any chicken. I suspect the dead mouse she ate has something to do with it, given the timeline. She has no other symptoms, just lethargic and lack of appetite for the last two days. She’s also quite old (at least 6 or 7 years) so that concerns me. Is this just something she needs to pass in her digestive system or should I be more concerned? Is there anything I can do to help make her more comfortable? I suspect maybe adding ACV to their water (which I often do anyways) might help.
For those concerned about mouse poisoning- we live out in the middle of the sticks with only a few neighbors down the road, and I don’t have mouse poison set out, so the chances that the mouse she consumed had been previously poisoned are pretty low I’d say.