Feral chickens found dead on Kauai
LIHUE » More than two dozen chickens have been found dead in three different locations on Kauai in the past week, but the Humane Society director said it's likely not a problem for other animals or people.
Kauai Humane Society Director Dr. Becky Rhoades said yesterday that over the last decade, pockets of dead feral chickens have shown up at various places around the Garden Isle. Every time, Rhoades said, autopsies done on the chickens have shown the cause of death to be a bacterial infection.
"We've never found anything that was worrisome," Rhoades added.
Still, Rhoades and Humane Society officers were contacted about a possible poisoning of chickens in a vacant lot in Kapaa on Monday. They found about 15 dead, and three others nearly dead had to be euthanized, Rhoades added.
The chickens, which appeared to be suffering from a respiratory illness with runny noses and red eyes, were sent to the state Department of Agriculture pathology lab for testing, Rhoades said.
Results will take at least a week, she added.
There have been no other reports of sick animals in the area, Rhoades said, so other diseases, such as avian influenza or West Nile virus, are unlikely.
Groups of dead feral chickens have also been found in Anahola and in Wailua this week, Rhoades added. They appeared to be suffering similar symptoms.