How long can a chicken go without food/water? (Bad, guilty owner)

[Schrebergaertner]

OK, I'll start off by saying the story has a happy ending, but I still don't deserve to own my flock. We put our rooster in the garage in a dog crate at night for neighbor peace reasons. Once or twice I've forgotten to take him out in the morning and he's spent a whole day in there, with no apparent ill effects. This week I went on a trip for three days and in the hubbub of getting packed and catching cabs and planes I must have forgotten to take him out. I didn't realize it until the night I got back and I went to put him away and he was not in the coop. It didn't even dawn on me that I forgot him--I actually started to suspect that the neighbor might have relocated him. Once I realized what I had done, I fully expected to find a long-dead roo in the box. Much to my surprise and relief, he was alive and appeared OK. I turned on the coop lights and let him roam for a while, but he didn't go for food or water--just went up to roost with his girls. This morning he was fine, eating, drinking, wooing, etc.

So my question is whether anyone knows, from experience or otherwise, how long a chicken can go without food or water? Not that I ever plan to do such a horrible thing again, I'm just curious whether he's a super-chicken, or if this is par for the course.

Thanks!

 

[liliyfield]

Last week I had a medical emergency that landed me in the hospital for 4 days. Before I went to the ER, I put my dogs in their dog yard, and let the chickens out of the coop. I couldn't stand the idea of them being without a chance for food and water if they kept me .
They kept me, however, my son came out and stayed the week, so he could feed and water them. He called me the next day to tell me that my buff orptington was not in the coop. I thought for sure she had been killed by a dog, because dogs hunt in the day. That was Monday 7 days ago. She was one of my older hens and a pet. When I got out of the hospital, I looked around to see if there were any feathers none. I missed her and was going to go and buy another one at auction.
Today, exactly one week later, I went out to feed them. As I was putting Corn in the geese feeder, I saw a little beak poking out from under their 3 gal tub. I lifted the tub, and there was Buffy, alive and apparently well!! She was a whole lot thinner, but seemed to be ok. Although I did put her in the sick c

oop by herself, until I am sure she is going to be OK. Thank God the weather was not hot, and there were some days of rain,
I am just so glad I have her back, and thank God she didn't die while trapped under that tub.
Buffy with her brood of RR and Isa's last year.

 

[Sussexlover]

Don't feel too bad. A treatment for chickens with crop impactation is to have them not eat much for two to three days so that the crop can catch up with itself. They can survive it great.

 

[BlessedCountry6]

I am glad your rooster was ok.

I have two incidents. One with a RIR my boys were playing with. We count them by theirs breeds as they go into the coop yard. We were missing her for 3 days. I pick up a planter (the plastic light weight black ones that blueberry bushes come in) and there is the missing RIR. She didn't make a sound for 3 days. I guess she thought night went on for a long time that day.

The second was with our only speckled sussex. I changed feed from the chick crumbles to the broiler feed. She looked off to me. But she looked like another chicken had after it broke a wing. Nothing I did helped with the first one and it healed on it own and fine so I just left her to heal up on her own. one weak after I found her under the feet of the other chickens. I tried to help, but it was too late. None of the other chickens had issues with the change so I didn't realize till later her lowered wings were from weakness not from a break.

You never know how long they can last. It depends on their health at the time I believe. unfortunate for the chickens, part of the learning curve is losing a couple or learning from a mistake made.

Don't feel like a bad owners just make a plan so that doesn't happen again. It's all we can do.

 

[deviled]

Is overnight ok for 10 week old pullets to be without food and water if they have had access to food and water all day?

 

[ScarlettFever]

Hopefully you've posted your sickness-related question on the health forum by now, I just thought I'd throw in my two cents worth on the nutrition questions: I've never encountered a chicken who didn't self regulate her feeding. Maybe meat chickens don't? (I've only ever known dual purpose and egg chickens.) In my experience, they eat for a while then wander off to hunt bugs and peck at grass, then come back for snacks throughout the day. More importantly, if you have more than 2-3 chickens it's especially important to make sure they always have access to feed throughout the day. Otherwise, those lowest in the pecking order might not get a chance to eat much of anything! (Often they have to wait until the queen bees have wandered off, before they can safely access the feed.) Layer pellets are NOT the same thing as grain, even though they do contain a mix of grains as well as other ingredients. (It's like with dry dog or cat food---those aren't the same as straight meat, but meat's an important ingredient in them.) Straight grains, like winter wheat or oat groats, are generally referred to as "scratch" because people toss them out on the ground for chickens to have fun scratching and finding---and chickens usually LOVE them, but they're more of a "side dish/dessert" than a "main course".

 

[trippy]

phewf! i am not sure how long they can go but i do know that before you butcher chickens some people take away their food and water for a few days to make sure the gullet is empty so it is less messy when you cut them open..id say probably 3 days would be the max but i have no idea.. glad to hear he was ok

 

[realsis]

Usually they get dehydration in a couple of days. I'm really glad your bird is alright. I'd say you are very fortunate he did not die.

 

[jillychickadee]

Temperature would make a big difference. Obviously, if it is very hot, then chickens (and all critters) need more water, more often. I think you got very lucky. Maybe think about getting a guinea pig waterer that you can attach to the dog kennel just in case. My girls use a hanging nipple system, so I imagine the rooster would peck at it and get the idea if needed.

 

[liliyfield]

I have to agree with you. Thank God we do learn. I am so thankful that my pet buff is still alive. I still can't figure out why, but she is that is all that matters to me. I don't know how she got trapped under the tub. The only thing I can figure that her body went in to stasis of some kind. She never made a peep when I was feeding the geese, and I wouldn't even have noticed her today, if she hadn't pf poked her beak out. She is still in the recovery coop. But I have checked on her over and over today and she is still doing fine. She is an old hen, now over 4 years old, she imprinted on me as a baby peep . As I said she is a pet. I don't know how she turned the tub over, but it kept her safe from predators. I am only thankful I found her. She was a good broody hen last summer, and raised 9 baby pullets I bought from the feed store. I love orps.