Help! Emu chick ate a staple!

[OstrichEmu]

My emu chick at a staple while wandering around the office on the farm! What do I do? Should I be worried? He's two weeks old today. Please help urgently

 

[NatJ]

I think the biggest danger from a staple is that it is poky, and might damage some part of the bird's insides.

My own experience is with chickens, not emus, but it might help a little:

If a chicken eats a staple, there is almost nothing I can do to help. Either it passes through safely or it does not. So I would be sure a chicken has access to grit (to make sure the gizzard can grind things properly), and hope for the best. There's a good chance that if the staple gets into the gizzard, it will be ground up enough to be safe by the time it comes out.

Vets can do surgery to remove things from a dog's stomach, but most vets refuse to treat chickens. If you have a vet who will treat emus, you could call and ask what they recommend.

I hope your emu is OK!

 

[OstrichEmu]

I think the biggest danger from a staple is that it is poky, and might damage some part of the bird's insides.

My own experience is with chickens, not emus, but it might help a little:

If a chicken eats a staple, there is almost nothing I can do to help. Either it passes through safely or it does not. So I would be sure a chicken has access to grit (to make sure the gizzard can grind things properly), and hope for the best. There's a good chance that if the staple gets into the gizzard, it will be ground up enough to be safe by the time it comes out.

Vets can do surgery to remove things from a dog's stomach, but most vets refuse to treat chickens. If you have a vet who will treat emus, you could call and ask what they recommend.

I hope your emu is OK!

It's day two, he's still his same self, made some hefty poo's, no blood in his stool. Eating and drinking like a machine and just being a trouble maker. So far it's looking good, I haven't seen it in his poops but I'm hoping it's already passed. I'm a first timer to this, he was found very VERY far from the nest so we took him in. He runs around in the office during the day with me and I have no clue how he found a single staple in an office that big. He swallowed it (hopefully not though because it happened so fast) before I could grab it...

 

[briefvisit]

Was it a tiny holding-pieces-of-paper-together staple? or a larger, sort of 'industrial-sized' one?

'I have no clue how he found a single staple in an office that big' Emus have a weird compulsion about eating shiny things, and they have great eyesight. Keeping captive emus requires ensuring a scrupulously clean environment.

'I think the biggest danger from a staple is that it is poky' Correct. Over the years here we've had a number of cases just like this. Even seen posted here x-rays of objects inside emus. This is, as I poorly understand it, OstrichEmu, purty damn serious. Perforation of the gut will lead to death.

' Either it passes through safely or it does not.' I once found a shard of (shiny) glass an inch long in the poop of one of my birds. Went through without touching the sides. I suppose you can only watch and wait. Please keep us posted.

Supreme Emu, Lake Muir, West Australia

 

[OstrichEmu]

Was it a tiny holding-pieces-of-paper-together staple? or a larger, sort of 'industrial-sized' one?

'I have no clue how he found a single staple in an office that big' Emus have a weird compulsion about eating shiny things, and they have great eyesight. Keeping captive emus requires ensuring a scrupulously clean environment.

'I think the biggest danger from a staple is that it is poky' Correct. Over the years here we've had a number of cases just like this. Even seen posted here x-rays of objects inside emus. This is, as I poorly understand it, OstrichEmu, purty damn serious. Perforation of the gut will lead to death.

' Either it passes through safely or it does not.' I once found a shard of (shiny) glass an inch long in the poop of one of my birds. Went through without touching the sides. I suppose you can only watch and wait. Please keep us posted.

Supreme Emu, Lake Muir, West Australia

It was the tiny-holding-papers kind. I'm still hoping he didn't actually swallow it and that it was a trick of the light...im hoping.

He's still zooming around, eating and drinking like a horse, pooping MASSIVE poops and spazzdancing.

One other thing, Mango (the bird) drinks sooo much water, is this normal? Could it be because the food is dry?

 

[briefvisit]

Dry food? Ah. Maybe so. But you should get an opinion from someone with captive birds.

[tee hee -- I invented the term 'spazzdancing'!]

 

[RoyalChick]

My guess is that it has passed by now so all clear. But if it happens again one thing you can do is feed something like psyllium husk (available in over the counter medicines for people or as an additive (again for people) or even oatmeal.
These form gels inside the gut so they coat the spikes bits and reduce risk of damage to the intestines.
Successfully handled a case of swallowed razor blades that way, though not in an emu.

 

[OstrichEmu]

Dry food? Ah. Maybe so. But you should get an opinion from someone with captive birds.

[tee hee -- I invented the term 'spazzdancing'!]

I admit... I've been stalking your threads since day one with baby emu Mango he's growing like a weed! He chases my cat AND my bosses great Dane so this one has definitely earned his nickname Mighty Mango! He's only two weeks old. He did a number on my bottom lip today right before snoozing on my lap. Chasing dogs is hard work.

Any tips @briefvisit for the future? I've been put in charge of taming the mini beast as I work on a tourist-destination ostrich farm

 

[OstrichEmu]

My guess is that it has passed by now so all clear. But if it happens again one thing you can do is feed something like psyllium husk (available in over the counter medicines for people or as an additive (again for people) or even oatmeal.
These form gels inside the gut so they coat the spikes bits and reduce risk of damage to the intestines.
Successfully handled a case of swallowed razor blades that way, though not in an emu.

Razors!!?? Gosh I hope it all ended very well. I think it's passed too by now. Random question, do emu chicks burp? He's been making burping sounds now and then, or is this the stepping stones to booming? Personally never heard the grown emus on the farm boom yet, sadly. They're not tame at all. None of his siblings have hatched yet either...

 

[RoyalChick]

Razors!!?? Gosh I hope it all ended very well. I think it's passed too by now. Random question, do emu chicks burp? He's been making burping sounds now and then, or is this the stepping stones to booming? Personally never heard the grown emus on the farm boom yet, sadly. They're not tame at all. None of his siblings have hatched yet either...

Yes, the razor blade case had a happy (though I imagine not particularly comfortable) ending. Sorry, I don't know anything about emus burping!