maggots, chickens, and limberneck

Patricia C. Bolin (bolinp@msue.msu.edu)
Wed, 11 Aug 1999 15:30:32 -0400

I typed "limberneck" into a Web search engine, & found that it is avian
botulism:
http://www.emtc.nbs.gov/http_data/nwhc/factshts/avian.html
"Outbreaks of avian botulism occur when the toxin is taken in by birds. The
die-off may begin as birds feed directly on invertebrate carcasses that
contain the toxin, or as a result of feeding on live maggots of flesh-flies
and blowflies. Flies lay their eggs on dead vertebrates, and the resulting
maggots store botulinal toxin in their bodies as they consume the carcass.
More than 5,000 maggots can be produced by a single bird carcass;
consumption of just two to five toxin-bearing maggots is often enough to
kill a duck!"

--pat--

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