Snake bit chicken......

[Gary A]

One of our Rhode Island Red chickens was laying on the concrete under roof. It looked like it was dead. Head laying on the concrete with its eyes closed. I nudged it with my foot and it moved. It lay there for three days. I nearly put it out of its misery but decided to let nature take its course. After three days it raised its head. I put a bowl of water in front of it and it drank every few minutes. I have to say that I was amazed. After a couple more days it was able to hold its head up. Then it was able to get up. Now it is back with the rest of the chickens. Unfortunately it is now blind in one eye but other than that it seems fine. My wife says she saw a snake swallowing eggs and she says the chicken was snake bit while protecting its eggs.

 

Has anyone else seen that kind of a situation? Is it possible that the chicken was sprayed in the one eye by a spitting cobra and then bitten? It is a big hen.

[cornishcarlos]

Not sure if it was bitten but I can't believe you left it there for 3 days !!!

What were you thinking ? Let nature take its course ? 

[Hutch68]

Great tale but why you left it for 3 days I will never know... maybe it was just tired and couldn't be bothered to do anything for a few days. I sometimes get like that.


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[Gary A]

I seriously though about puttin it out of its misery but where there is life, there is hope. In this case I apparently did the right thing.

[cornishcarlos]

9 hours ago, Gary A said:

I seriously though about puttin it out of its misery but where there is life, there is hope. In this case I apparently did the right thing.

 

Not really... You could have moved it to a comfortable place, basket with cloth inside for example...

Just leaving it laying there is either lazy or heartless !!

[Gary A]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Not really... You could have moved it to a comfortable place, basket with cloth inside for example...

Just leaving it laying there is either lazy or heartless !!

 

Give me your contact information and the next time I have a sick chicken, I'll contact you. You can then make a nice comfy bed for it.

[cornishcarlos]

30 minutes ago, Gary A said:

 

Give me your contact information and the next time I have a sick chicken, I'll contact you. You can then make a nice comfy bed for it.

 

I look after my own birds... 

Up to you what you do, but if you come on a forum writing posts about leaving animals lying around for 3 days, expect some fall out...

Unless you are running a battery farm, I would expect you to care for your chickens !!

[Gary A]

Common sense would dictate that the chicken be immediately killed. Who knows why the chicken was sick. Chicken flu, a killer virus of some sort? Not too smart to handle the sick chicken or take a chance on it infecting the other chickens.

[thoongfoned]

have dogs that live at the wifes other house, 2 have gone blind in one eye due to snakes, these dogs attack/kill anything that comes over the walls - to me sounds like the chicken got some snake venome in the eye and got sick like your wife says....

[grollies]

We got 80-odd RIR chickens, cooped up with a run for daytime. Never seen one defend its eggs but you do get some bullying from time to time (edit: got one or two that will sit on eggs and get right shirty when you take the eggs.....so could be after all....)

 

Could be bitten by one of those big long centipede thingys. We had the same thing happen to 3 or 4 of ours over last 2 years, one is blind in one eye. Never seen a cobra round here (that doesn't mean there aren't any)....

 

Wifey's more into the chickens. Got a sick bay next door for bullied/poorly hens, now complete with cockeral. Cheers the little darlings up no end.

 

Get yourself a 'sum'.

[Gary A]

Some time back, I posted about a spitting cobra. My wife was going out the back door and she said the door didn't close properly. She pushed it closed and heard a hiss. She looked up and for whatever reason the cobra had climbed up to the top of the screen door. It did spit on her but since it was caught in the door, it hit her upper arm. By that time I got there and told her to make sure she held the screen door closed. I grabbed a pair of safety glasses and a butcher knife. I normally don't kill snakes but I killed that one.

 

I had never seen a cobra here before that one. Since they are normally very shy they stay hidden pretty well. There are probably other ones around here. She did see another snake swallowing an egg but it wasn't a cobra. It was some sort of a big snake. It was gone before I got there.

[Gary A]

Since I thought the chicken had recovered, I went out every day to have a look at it. I thought it was going to make it but two days ago, I found it dead. Now dead and buried. I should have killed it to start with.