Chicken swallowed plastic cap

[photokate9]

Hi,
Today I noticed that one of our chickens (we just have two) was walking around with a red plastic cap (that has a ring attached to it via a short cord, all plastic) in her mouth. I tried to catch her to grab it but as she was walking around away from me, she sucked it down and swallowed it! Do you think she'll be ok?? Since she's just a chicken (and not an endearing pet) I don't want to spend $ on her at a vet, but I also don't want her to die. What would you do? Any tips on helping her pass the cap smoothly and without internal injury?
Thanks for any help,
Kate

 

[Bailey1204]

There is now way her body can break down the plastic. It is too large for her to pass. What you can do is a get a sedative from your local feed store or online. Then you need to get a brand new x-acto knife. It will need to be sanitized with alcohol. Once she'd asleep, make a cut in her throat, remove the cap and sew stitched with sanitized thread and needle. Take the stitches out after about 2 weeks. It's not a a 'big deal' surgery. I've done it on ducks and as long as you have the stomach for it, you can do it. You can see this procedure in more detail in Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks by Dave Holdderead. It is at most library's.
Hope I helped!

 

[Eggcessive]

Hi,
Today I noticed that one of our chickens (we just have two) was walking around with a red plastic cap (that has a ring attached to it via a short cord, all plastic) in her mouth. I tried to catch her to grab it but as she was walking around away from me, she sucked it down and swallowed it! Do you think she'll be ok?? Since she's just a chicken (and not an endearing pet) I don't want to spend $ on her at a vet, but I also don't want her to die. What would you do? Any tips on helping her pass the cap smoothly and without internal injury?
Thanks for any help,
Kate

Welcome to BYC, and sorry about your hen. How is your chicken doing now? It has been a couple of weeks since this happened, and sorry that no one saw your post earlier to help. Many chickens have things stuck in the crop or gizzard after swallowing them. Doing crop surgery yourself is pretty risky, and although some do it without problems, I would recommend a vet to perform surgery.