8 week old Sebright swallowed piece of wet cardboard

[shanadienne]

The little guy just swallowed a piece of wet cardboard (thin cardboard from a tissue box). I think it was maybe an inch long, definitely less than an inch wide. I'm worried that's going to impact in his digestive system. Should I worry? What do I do, other than watch him? It was a few minutes ago now, he doesn't seem affected (crop not even swollen or anything), but he's so small. It'd be like a human swallowing a piece of cardboard the size of printer paper.

 

[Makomd]

I would give it a bit of time and see what happens. Make sure they have plenty of food and water availble. Chicks will sometimes eat wood shavings too and manage to make out as if nothing happened. They do have a slightly different means of digestion , and usuallu in their feed is a small amount of grit, which is used to grind up their food. Hope all goes well.

Good Luck

 

[ten chicks]

I had a 2 week old chick get a piece of shaving stuck in her throat. I knew she was in distress, i immediately pulled her out and opened her beak. Pulled out what i saw,then put some sand in the brooder. I had sand on hand(washed construction grade) because i was switching over to sand. She immediately started pecking at sand,and started feeling better. I put sand in for grit,thinking it would help digest any shavings she swallowed, as i was not sure if starter feed had any in it. Hope your chick is ok.

 

[shanadienne]

It's about 20 hours later and he seems fine. He's still acting normal, drinking water and he was hungry for food this morning just like the rest of the chicks. I guess it's passed through his digestive system (not sure how long it takes for food to pass through them)...

 

[Makomd]

Good to hear.