10 month old pullet just swallowed plastic toothpick

[MrsNorthie]

We’ve found one, waiting to see her.

Here’s a very angry chicken in a cat carrier:
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Sending lot's of positive thoughts! Let us know how she is doing!

 

[LaFleche]

If she just ate it you should be able to still feel it in her crop.

If the plastic already passed the crop you can feed her raw sauerkraut which will wrap itself around the pick thus preventing it from piercing through the gizzard. If she has ingested a proper amount of granite grit the plastic will probably be ground to miniscule pieces and be excreted.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hi all, thanks for the responses! We are back home now. The vet couldn’t palpate (squeeze-feel) anything, so we moved on to non-sedated X-rays, which amazingly Lil consented to.

X-rays were negative, as in showing nothing, so we have cautiously returned home. The rest of the flock, especially bestie Buffy, welcomed her back, because they were really freaked out when we chased her, finally caught her, stuffed her into the cat crate, and Took Her Away.

I will spend the next 18 months or so looking for a 2 1/2” white plastic toothpick out in Chickenlandia (their turf.) I was surprised to find how many molted feather barbs look exactly like one.

Thanks to all for the well wishes! Fingers crossed for an uneventful night and following day.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hey all, my husband had a cherry tomato speared on a “brush pick”, a plastic toothpick approximately 2” long, dropped it, and our Easter Egger ate it.

The brush tip (bottom of photo) is pretty bendy, but the rest is not, and the other end is very pointy.

Will this somehow pass through her system? Is there anything I can do? I think there’s a vet who treats chickens somewhere around here, but I don’t know anything about them.

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Oh no! Silly chooks. Are you absolutely certain she ate it? Gosh they are so naughty sometimes.

It will not move through the digestive system. At best it will be encased in grasses and sit inert in her crop.

At worst it could puncture the crop, or cause a blockage. There is really no way to say 100% what will happen.

If you have a Vet you might consult them.



Edit: SHRA - did the Vet do an ultrasound?

At any rate it’s likely she will be fine. Horses, cattle, kids….. they all eat stuff they shouldn’t. Brats all of them! But they usually are fine. I’d be more worried about those crazy magnetic batteries. Those are big bad news.

Give your chook a hug from me!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thanks, I never have understood the mystery of the crop/rest of it all transition!

Yes, we - actually my husband - weren’t sure of anything. All he knew is that there was no sign of it (bright white plastic spear on dark brown mulch) anywhere near where she pounced on it.

I’m waiting for it to magically appear in one of the garden beds in the spring.

 

[Ponypoor]

Thanks, I never have understood the mystery of the crop/rest of it all transition!

Yes, we - actually my husband - weren’t sure of anything. All he knew is that there was no sign of it (bright white plastic spear on dark brown mulch) anywhere near where she pounced on it.

I’m waiting for it to magically appear in one of the garden beds in the spring.

Hardware disease - that’s the technical name - cows are famous for eating nails, bolts, screws…. Farmers use magnets on a string to send down to the cows first stomach and let the magnet catch the hardware. Silly cows!

 

[Perris]

Hi all, thanks for the responses! We are back home now. The vet couldn’t palpate (squeeze-feel) anything, so we moved on to non-sedated X-rays, which amazingly Lil consented to.

X-rays were negative, as in showing nothing, so we have cautiously returned home. The rest of the flock, especially bestie Buffy, welcomed her back, because they were really freaked out when we chased her, finally caught her, stuffed her into the cat crate, and Took Her Away.

I will spend the next 18 months or so looking for a 2 1/2” white plastic toothpick out in Chickenlandia (their turf.) I was surprised to find how many molted feather barbs look exactly like one.

Thanks to all for the well wishes! Fingers crossed for an uneventful night and following day.

chickens do eat feathers, and feather shafts can be sharp if broken, so I would be optimistic. Not sure you would recognize what comes out though