Cherry Millipede - Cyanide Poisoning?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Help! My EE ate half a live cherry millipede, known for containing enough cyanide to kill a small bird! Those dang things are everywhere lately. I got to her before she could eat the other half but I'm worried she still ingested to much. So far she's acting fine and running around (it's been 15-20 minutes)--but is there anything proactive I can do to mitigate the effects?

 

[ILoveDaffy]

@BY Bob @sourland @aart @azygous @ColtHandorf ? LITERALLY ANYONE BUT ME?!

 

[sourland]

I have no clue. Good luck.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

So it's been about 45 minutes and she still seems okay. From what I've read about cyanide poisoning it happens pretty quickly. I'm hoping this means she may be out of the woods so I am remaining cautiously optimistic.

 

[ColtHandorf]

is there anything proactive I can do to mitigate the effects?

I wouldn't worry, by chance do you have fish tanks? You can remove the activated carbon/charcoal and convince her to eat that. It will absorb any toxins.

 

[Kiki]

I wouldn't worry either.

 

[azygous]

If she is behaving normally, she's likely not poisoned. Poison acts very quickly in chickens.

If you are concerned and wish to neutralize possible poison, you can give her activated charcoal in a molasses flush. Mix the contents of one activated charcoal capsule into one-fourth cup warm water with one teaspoon molasses stirred in. Get her to drink it all or tube it or syringe it into her, careful to avoid the hole in the center of the throat behind the tongue where the airway is. Go down the right side of her throat into the crop.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I wouldn't worry, by chance do you have fish tanks? You can remove the activated carbon/charcoal and convince her to eat that. It will absorb any toxins.

I don't. Unfortunately I had to go out for most of the afternoon/evening, and was wringing my hands. My husband kept a close eye and she's fine. But this is a great tip, and I will be grabbing activated charcoal for my chicken first aid kit! Thank you!

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

If she is behaving normally, she's likely not poisoned. Poison acts very quickly in chickens.

If you are concerned and wish to neutralize possible poison, you can give her activated charcoal in a molasses flush. Mix the contents of one activated charcoal capsule into one-fourth cup warm water with one teaspoon molasses stirred in. Get her to drink it all or tube it or syringe it into her, careful to avoid the hole in the center of the throat behind the tongue where the airway is. Go down the right side of her throat into the crop. View attachment 2618419

Thanks for this! Fortunately she is doing fine, so I won't be trying this out on her (though I will bookmark it for the future). I figured after an hour or so went by she was likely okay.

By the way, this is the millipede that I was talking about, endemic to this area of VA (though related cyanide producing millipedes are all over): https://www.sciencealert.com/most-colourful-millipede-kill-bird-cyanide-defence

Interestingly, similar millipedes have learned to mimic the colors of their super poisonous counterparts to evade predation, and I'm guessing this might have been the type my EE gobbled up... thankfully. I will have to keep an eye out though! There are more where it came from.