cherry pit stuck in craw?

[tasia]

I have a small flock of four who have the run of my front yard near Portland, OR. I've had two of them for a year and just added another two last week.

Two days ago my kids were eating cherries out there and later I saw my hens pecking at the pits they had spit out. I saw my ~2yo Blue Andalusian, Ziggy, eat a cherry pit. Not knowing if this was OK, I gathered up all the pits I could find and went online to see if I should worry. I saw many postings in various places that said cherries were fine for hens. But yesterday I noticed that Ziggy sounded funny. Instead of her usual bawking, she was sort of moan-wheezing. I didn't think about the cherry pit at all and since she seemed content and active I decided to wait and see.

Today she still sounds funny and now I can see that she is not eating. This morning she did not go near the sunflower seeds I scattered, and usually she runs for them. Later, I scattered her favorite treats and she poked around but let the other hens eat all of them. I had a sudden thought that she may have a cherry pit stuck in her craw. I picked her up and felt around for signs of a small lump where it should not be, and I could not feel anything (plus she did not like that at all). She's still laying every day.

Any advice? Other ideas what the problem could be? I have no idea how to help her.

 

[Blue_Myst]

I'm afraid I can't help too much, this is really puzzling!

I did some research on the net and found that cherry pits do contain small amounts of cyanide, but if she ate only one pit, I don't think this is her problem. If she ate, say, fifteen, I'd be concerned.

Other than the wheezing, does she twist her neck like she's trying to dislodge something in her windpipe?

At any rate I'd try giving her a pick me up of some sort . . . electrolytes or sugar water may help. Just dribble it down the side of her beak and she will swallow it. You can try feeding her more "liquid" treats like yogurt, if she still isn't eating at all.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.

Please keep us updated!

 

[laws24]

My chicken is making a weird honking noise when breathing and I think she also got into some cherries with pits. Not many before I stopped her could this be the cause also!

 

[tasia]

Thanks for the yogurt idea. She wasn't too thrilled with me but she needed *something*. She had indeed been doing weird things with her neck, like she was trying to cough.

As of this morning, things are looking up. She still didn't come running for the morning scatter but I saw her pecking at it later. Then I tempted her with some shredded cheese and she gobbled that right up--a very small amount, but at least she's eating! She still sounds funny, but a different kind of funny--kind of hoarse. Whatever is stuck in there seems to be working its way through.

Oh wow... as I was typing this I heard one of the girls "sounding the alarm" and I looked out the window and it was Ziggy! What a wonderful sound. {knock wood} I think she's on the upswing.

Thanks!

 

[Blue_Myst]

Great news!

I'm glad she's feeling better!