chicken swallowed a necklace

[castrbl]

i was dumb and left my chicken in a room alone for a couple minutes. when i came back, she had swallowed a really really reeeaallly important necklace. this happened on monday and it still hasnt come out. she has swallowed earrings and they would come back out but this is different since its larger and is long. do you think itll come out or should we go ahead and take her to the vet? i was planning on waiting a week to see if itll pass but im getting nervous. shes acting completely fine and doesnt seem to be in any pain or discomfort.

 

[rebrascora]

You might have to decide which is more important, the necklace or the chicken! My guess is that the necklace will sustain some damage in her gizzard before it breaks down enough to pass out and down through her gut and be pooped out. I very much doubt that a vet would offer to operate to remove it from the gizzard because the risk of the chicken dying either from the anaesthetic or the surgery are very high and the cost of the surgery would probably be in excess of $1000. It is unlikely to still be in her crop now, unless you can feel it, in which case the sooner you get her to a vet's and get it out the better. Once it is beyond the crop it is too risky and expensive to try to remove.
I think you were extremely lucky to get the earring back the last time without damage or losing the chicken. I don't think you will be so lucky this time I'm afraid.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Ima thinking it won’t pass. It will settle in somewhere. The crop or in the intestines. Most things breakdown during digestion but metal?

 

[Fishkeeper]

Metal takes a very long time to corrode in a digestive tract- you only see damage in situations where, for example, a dog swallowed something and it stayed in there for months.
Long objects are dangerous for animals to swallow because they can cause the intestines to tangle.
There's not really anything you can do at this point. You could take her to the vet and X-ray to see where it is, but I'm not sure a vet could say anything other than "well, it's in there".
Which brings up an important point; did you actually see her swallow it? Are you sure it's in the chicken and not just on the floor somewhere?

 

[rebrascora]

Cats and dogs have a different digestive system. Chickens have a gizzard which contains grit and is used to grind up hard food like grains. Depending on the necklace and what it is made from, it may sustain some damage in the gizzard but the bigger concern is that it will impact the gizzard and the chicken will be unable to process enough food to survive and will gradually starve to death. Have you monitored her food intake and crop function. If her crop is not fully emptying overnight then that would indicate it is causing a blockage. To do this you need to remove access to food after dark. Feel her crop to make sure it is full and then check it in the morning before she is given food when it should be flat and empty.

 

[castrbl]

You might have to decide which is more important, the necklace or the chicken! My guess is that the necklace will sustain some damage in her gizzard before it breaks down enough to pass out and down through her gut and be pooped out. I very much doubt that a vet would offer to operate to remove it from the gizzard because the risk of the chicken dying either from the anaesthetic or the surgery are very high and the cost of the surgery would probably be in excess of $1000. It is unlikely to still be in her crop now, unless you can feel it, in which case the sooner you get her to a vet's and get it out the better. Once it is beyond the crop it is too risky and expensive to try to remove.
I think you were extremely lucky to get the earring back the last time without damage or losing the chicken. I don't think you will be so lucky this time I'm afraid.

i dont feel it in her crop no.

 

[castrbl]

Metal takes a very long time to corrode in a digestive tract- you only see damage in situations where, for example, a dog swallowed something and it stayed in there for months.
Long objects are dangerous for animals to swallow because they can cause the intestines to tangle.
There's not really anything you can do at this point. You could take her to the vet and X-ray to see where it is, but I'm not sure a vet could say anything other than "well, it's in there".
Which brings up an important point; did you actually see her swallow it? Are you sure it's in the chicken and not just on the floor somewhere?

i didnt see it but i know for a fact that she did swallow it. i felt it in her crop.

 

[castrbl]

Cats and dogs have a different digestive system. Chickens have a gizzard which contains grit and is used to grind up hard food like grains. Depending on the necklace and what it is made from, it may sustain some damage in the gizzard but the bigger concern is that it will impact the gizzard and the chicken will be unable to process enough food to survive and will gradually starve to death. Have you monitored her food intake and crop function. If her crop is not fully emptying overnight then that would indicate it is causing a blockage. To do this you need to remove access to food after dark. Feel her crop to make sure it is full and then check it in the morning before she is given food when it should be flat and empty.

she has been eating and functioning just fine. there has only been one incident which was last night where she had just one runny poo but that was it. everything else is fine.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Unless you want to take her to get X-rayed, all you can do at this point is wait, monitor, and hope, and prepare yourself somewhat for the possibility of this proving fatal.

 

[castrbl]

Cats and dogs have a different digestive system. Chickens have a gizzard which contains grit and is used to grind up hard food like grains. Depending on the necklace and what it is made from, it may sustain some damage in the gizzard but the bigger concern is that it will impact the gizzard and the chicken will be unable to process enough food to survive and will gradually starve to death. Have you monitored her food intake and crop function. If her crop is not fully emptying overnight then that would indicate it is causing a blockage. To do this you need to remove access to food after dark. Feel her crop to make sure it is full and then check it in the morning before she is given food when it should be flat and empty.

her crop was empty this morning. no blockage.