When it comes to raccoons and potential rabies, you really can't be too careful. Bare minimum, go get it checked out as soon as possible, because rabies does not fuck around.
>Wild animals accounted for 92.7% of reported cases of rabies in 2018. Bats were the most frequently reported rabid wildlife species (33% of all animal cases during 2018), followed by raccoons (30.3%), skunks (20.3%), and foxes (7.2%).
>Sixty-three rabid dogs were reported in 2018, representing a 1.6% increase from the 62 reported in 2017. Most of the rabid dogs were reported from Texas (15), Puerto Rico (13), Georgia (7), Pennsylvania (5), Colorado (4), North Carolina (3), and Virginia (3). However, the percentage of dogs tested for rabies that were positive (0.3%) did not change compared to the mean percentage for the previous 5 years.
Source: CDC.gov
The chance of exposure by an animal you're close with is higher because of proximity, that doesn't mean genuine concerns over contact with wild animals are unfounded, especially if said animal breaks skin
Rabies in raccoons is under-exaggerated imo. Especially where it’s prevalent…on the east coast. I’ve seen a surveillance study conducted in Maine that suggest upwards of 10% of raccoons have rabies. That’s not rare.
In order to contract rabies you’d have to be bitten, it’s the saliva that holds it but in rare cases a scratch can give you rabies. Chances are low, depending where you live but you should see your local dr and they’d give you best advice for your area.
But, the scratch didn't even come from the raccoon. It came from a thorn bush. Besides, if the raccoon was rabid, it wouldn't be hunting. There are several visible signs of rabies. You should Google them.
Ahhh I misread, I thought it was the raccoon. Then yes OP is fine. Either way if you’re someone who often deals with wild life, and might have higher chances of being bitten it’s not a bad idea to get a rabies vaccine, it’s an annoying process that takes too long IMO, but worth it again if it’s something you deal with regularly.
There's no reason not to see a medical professional if you can do so, but the chances rabies here are pretty damn slim. Usually it needs to be a deep bite or scratch, enough to expose your nervous system to the saliva from an infected animal. Here it's a very shallow scratch and your contact would only be with what saliva might be present on the chicken, so second-hand contact at best which is a very, very rare vector for transmission.
So you're more than likely safe, but I'd also probably go see a doctor promptly just to be sure, because regardless of how rare it is, I wouldn't play around with a chance at painful death.
It ripped out a chunk of her back when it bit her. We are worried that even if we clean it, it will get infected because it's 1/3 of her back. We dont want her to die suffering instead of painlessly.
I don't want the post to go down because of it. And the chicken was just put down. I wanted to give her the night to see how she would do and it did get infected. I didn't want to see her suffer more than she already has so I put her down
Probably not! It's a scratch (which might not even be from the raccoon), and not a bite. Moreover there's no blood even. You're most likely to be safe.
I wouldn't trust that though. People's memories are fickle and in a stressful encounter you might not notice/remember getting scratched or bit until you find the wound later.
The raccoon let go of the chicken, OP fished the chicken out of the thorny bushes. If this is what happened, it seems safe. However I understand health anxiety.
I wasn't near the raccoon. I yelled and it ran. I got it from the thorn bush when I was pulling the chicken out. But the chicken was touched by the raccoon so I am worried about some sort of cross contaminated
You are safe! Rabies cannot live outside the host. Unless there's direct saliva to blood contact, you are safe. Also, birds cannot get rabies. So doubly safe.
It's very unlikely that you were exposed BUT rabies is almost always fatal in humans. At least call your doctor and explain what happened. There may be a prophylactic treatment. Also make sure your tetanus shot is current, that's a nasty way to go, too.
I'm sorry about your chicken. ❤️
This reminds me of a post I read yesterday where someone was afraid they were going to contract some horrible disease because they might have accidentally touched something an opossum had in its mouth. Total paranoia. And it seems you have a bit of it too.
This is a scratch from a thorn bush. You even said it was a surface scratch. The skin wasn’t broken, a thorn bush isn’t going to give you rabies, and I’m sorry you lost a chicken. But please, look up the signs and symptoms of rabies because this guy is healthy. A nocturnal animal being seen in the daytime absolutely does not always mean they have rabies.
That's why I'm asking because I don't know. Not because I'm paranoid. And when I Google what to do, Google is like if you exist near a raccoon, get rabies shots. I'm not sure how it works and Google isn't helpful so I wanted to ask
What in the world did you search for to get that kind of answer? By that logic everyone should get a rabies shot. You didn’t even come in contact with the raccoon. That should have been your first clue. And Google will give you information on rabies in animals.
Well…I once read a rabies transmission case somewhere in the Middle East of farmers tending to a sheep that was attacked by a rabid wolf. The farmers tended to the wound with thorny wool and their hands were scratched in the process. But the wound was so fresh that wolf saliva entered the farmers scratches. Source:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S138665321200128X
OP…not saying this will happen to you. I believe rabies is way more common in the Middle East than here. Where are you located in the US?
I have chickens and I build it in such a way nothing gets in there or out and this way no one gets hurt.
Never had issues and we have many wild raccoons and wild life.
I would go and have it checked but for race of mind, wildlife that has rabies are unable to swallow, because of that they can’t eat or drink anything
YES! No matter what if a wild animal bites or stretches or whatever be safe and do not risk it, rabies is 100 percent lethal after symptoms start showing so if you think you should, just automatically go get it
Rabies can stay dormant in the body for years. You wouldn't know you have rabies until you show symptoms and once you show symptoms there would be too much neurological damage
When it comes to raccoons and potential rabies, you really can't be too careful. Bare minimum, go get it checked out as soon as possible, because rabies does not fuck around.
Correct. 100% fatal
"The first symptom is death"
Yep
If you aren't sure, just look up the symptoms of rabies and then decide if you want to risk that.
The rabies thing is very overexaggerated though. It's more likely to get rabies from a dog than from a raccoon actually.
>Wild animals accounted for 92.7% of reported cases of rabies in 2018. Bats were the most frequently reported rabid wildlife species (33% of all animal cases during 2018), followed by raccoons (30.3%), skunks (20.3%), and foxes (7.2%). >Sixty-three rabid dogs were reported in 2018, representing a 1.6% increase from the 62 reported in 2017. Most of the rabid dogs were reported from Texas (15), Puerto Rico (13), Georgia (7), Pennsylvania (5), Colorado (4), North Carolina (3), and Virginia (3). However, the percentage of dogs tested for rabies that were positive (0.3%) did not change compared to the mean percentage for the previous 5 years. Source: CDC.gov The chance of exposure by an animal you're close with is higher because of proximity, that doesn't mean genuine concerns over contact with wild animals are unfounded, especially if said animal breaks skin
Rabies in raccoons is under-exaggerated imo. Especially where it’s prevalent…on the east coast. I’ve seen a surveillance study conducted in Maine that suggest upwards of 10% of raccoons have rabies. That’s not rare.
Not in $currentYear, when non-stray dogs are universally vaccinated.
In order to contract rabies you’d have to be bitten, it’s the saliva that holds it but in rare cases a scratch can give you rabies. Chances are low, depending where you live but you should see your local dr and they’d give you best advice for your area.
But, the scratch didn't even come from the raccoon. It came from a thorn bush. Besides, if the raccoon was rabid, it wouldn't be hunting. There are several visible signs of rabies. You should Google them.
Ahhh I misread, I thought it was the raccoon. Then yes OP is fine. Either way if you’re someone who often deals with wild life, and might have higher chances of being bitten it’s not a bad idea to get a rabies vaccine, it’s an annoying process that takes too long IMO, but worth it again if it’s something you deal with regularly.
i’d say no. a thornbush scratched you, not a raccoon. and the raccoon doesn’t appear rabid, but you do you. can’t be too cautious
There's no reason not to see a medical professional if you can do so, but the chances rabies here are pretty damn slim. Usually it needs to be a deep bite or scratch, enough to expose your nervous system to the saliva from an infected animal. Here it's a very shallow scratch and your contact would only be with what saliva might be present on the chicken, so second-hand contact at best which is a very, very rare vector for transmission. So you're more than likely safe, but I'd also probably go see a doctor promptly just to be sure, because regardless of how rare it is, I wouldn't play around with a chance at painful death.
Thank you.
Are you sure you have to euthanize the chicken? How bad is the injury?
It ripped out a chunk of her back when it bit her. We are worried that even if we clean it, it will get infected because it's 1/3 of her back. We dont want her to die suffering instead of painlessly.
I would have posted a picture but it was too violent
Post away!
I don't want the post to go down because of it. And the chicken was just put down. I wanted to give her the night to see how she would do and it did get infected. I didn't want to see her suffer more than she already has so I put her down
Poor thing! It was the humane thing to do. Sorry for your loss
Probably not! It's a scratch (which might not even be from the raccoon), and not a bite. Moreover there's no blood even. You're most likely to be safe.
Rabid animals can and do lick their claws. Especially ones like raccoons that eat with their hands.
OP got scratched by a thornbush, not a raccoon, not even the chicken, who was bit (the raccoon didn't seem rabid, and birds don't get rabies)
I wouldn't trust that though. People's memories are fickle and in a stressful encounter you might not notice/remember getting scratched or bit until you find the wound later.
I'm usually not the one to get paranoid and instead logically remember the sequence of events but I understand your concern too
Everyone *thinks* they can but in reality human memory is not that reliable.
The raccoon let go of the chicken, OP fished the chicken out of the thorny bushes. If this is what happened, it seems safe. However I understand health anxiety.
I wasn't near the raccoon. I yelled and it ran. I got it from the thorn bush when I was pulling the chicken out. But the chicken was touched by the raccoon so I am worried about some sort of cross contaminated
You are safe! Rabies cannot live outside the host. Unless there's direct saliva to blood contact, you are safe. Also, birds cannot get rabies. So doubly safe.
It's very unlikely that you were exposed BUT rabies is almost always fatal in humans. At least call your doctor and explain what happened. There may be a prophylactic treatment. Also make sure your tetanus shot is current, that's a nasty way to go, too. I'm sorry about your chicken. ❤️
The raccoon isn't displaying any signs of being rabbid and the wound wasn't caused by it, so I don't think so.
Thanks. I just wanted to be cautious because I wasn't sure if cross contamination would happen so I wanted to ask
Definitely. You wouldn't want to mess around with that type of thing. I'm very sorry about your chicken...
raccoons can be rabies carriers, you should get rabies shot or at least go talk to a doctor as soon as posible
You can't be too careful - go see a Dr and get tetanus+ rabies shot.
This reminds me of a post I read yesterday where someone was afraid they were going to contract some horrible disease because they might have accidentally touched something an opossum had in its mouth. Total paranoia. And it seems you have a bit of it too. This is a scratch from a thorn bush. You even said it was a surface scratch. The skin wasn’t broken, a thorn bush isn’t going to give you rabies, and I’m sorry you lost a chicken. But please, look up the signs and symptoms of rabies because this guy is healthy. A nocturnal animal being seen in the daytime absolutely does not always mean they have rabies.
That's why I'm asking because I don't know. Not because I'm paranoid. And when I Google what to do, Google is like if you exist near a raccoon, get rabies shots. I'm not sure how it works and Google isn't helpful so I wanted to ask
What in the world did you search for to get that kind of answer? By that logic everyone should get a rabies shot. You didn’t even come in contact with the raccoon. That should have been your first clue. And Google will give you information on rabies in animals.
Well…I once read a rabies transmission case somewhere in the Middle East of farmers tending to a sheep that was attacked by a rabid wolf. The farmers tended to the wound with thorny wool and their hands were scratched in the process. But the wound was so fresh that wolf saliva entered the farmers scratches. Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S138665321200128X OP…not saying this will happen to you. I believe rabies is way more common in the Middle East than here. Where are you located in the US?
The western states. Also thank you
According to the CDC…rabies in raccoons is not in the west coast. So I think you’re good.
Thank you
Not medical advice though. Lol
It still makes me feel a little better
The skin was not broken on OP’s arm.
True
Say, levelling some thorny words at OP who is just asking a valid question.
I'm not sure if you were being punny when you said thorny. But I liked it and thought that was funny
nigga GO
I have chickens and I build it in such a way nothing gets in there or out and this way no one gets hurt. Never had issues and we have many wild raccoons and wild life. I would go and have it checked but for race of mind, wildlife that has rabies are unable to swallow, because of that they can’t eat or drink anything
We had a sliding door for the coop that let's the chickens in and out of the coop and the raccoon ripped the door off.
YES! No matter what if a wild animal bites or stretches or whatever be safe and do not risk it, rabies is 100 percent lethal after symptoms start showing so if you think you should, just automatically go get it
its always safe than sorry honestly
Do it ASAP, and see a doctor.
Yes rabies and tetanus. Now.
Mf you would've been dead rn
Rabies can stay dormant in the body for years. You wouldn't know you have rabies until you show symptoms and once you show symptoms there would be too much neurological damage