No Apparent Foul in Death of Roswell Chickens

The toxicology report on Andrew Wordes' dead chickens has come back from the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine and it doesn't appear to show they were poisoned, as some initially believed.

Wordes was devastated when he over the July 4 weekend. At the time, he told Roswell Patch he believed that someone had trespassed on his property to poison them while he was out of town.

But lab results recently released showed that the amount of lead in the birds livers was below the toxic range. And no toxic organic compound which is was present either, however the report does seem to indicate that not every toxic organic compound may show up in the tests.

According to the report, three birds were tested as part of the study: including a large black turkey, a small White Eastern Wild Turkey and a small black turkey. Also tested as part of the study were a mushroom, water sample and soil from Wordes' property.

The report, which was ordered by Fulton County Animal Services, does mention that all three birds were "thin" and also that bacteria was found present in one of them.

Veterinary Pathologist and Professor Doris M. Miller Liebl commented, "all three birds were thin and birds 'A' and 'B' had none to very little food material in their crop, stomach or intestines. The cause of death in these birds could be a combination of nutritional and bacterial/fungal infections."

The report also points out that "toxicology testing on the samples from these birds were negative for pesticides, heavy metals and rodenticides."

Wordes' was not able to be reached for comment since serving time for probation violation. Many have shown great support for Wordes during his battles with the city; and friends are fostering all of his animals while he's gone. He is expected to return home in early November.