Chicken ate a golf ball

[T-Amy]

My 6 month old white leghorn somehow managed to swallow a golf ball from the nesting box- and it's in her crop- it looks like it's torn the skin so the golf ball has almost worked its way out. She won't let me catch her to look at it or try to get it out so I'll have to wait til she roosts tonight to see if I can work on it.
I don't want to have to isolate her to give her antibiotics- can anyone suggest whether topical triple antibiotic ointment should work? Can I just cut the crop slightly if it won't work its way out itself? does it heal itself? (I suspect I'll have to isolate her for a day or two without food going in & out of the crop so it can heal without the constant exposure to food & grit in there preventing it from healing but I'm not sure). We are going out of town soon & I want to get this resolved while I can keep an eye on her-
I'm guessing it's painful but not sure if chickens can have pain medicine?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[T-Amy]

It's been a while since my last post so I forgot how to post a new one- I didn't mean to put this under games, jokes, & fun. so I'm moving it to another post so people don't think it's a joke.

 

[redsoxs]

Okay, this sounds like a dumb question but, are you sure? It seems physically impossible for a 6 month old chicken to have done something like that. When their crop is full it can be round and hard...like a golf ball. If she did manage it swallow it I would not give her a positive prognosis. I don't have any advice about do-it-yourself surgery. Best of luck. You might post over in the Emergencies, Diseases, Injuries, and Cures thread.

 

[T-Amy]

Yes, I thought the SAME exact thing until i got close enough to see the golf ball actually coming out of her crop. let me try to take a picture of it & try to post it. It's a bit scary to think just exactly how she got that in there. My heart is breaking for her! But she is so flighty & I'm guessing it hurts so she doesn't want me to get close.

 

[T-Amy]

Yes, I moved this post over to that section so feel free to follow it over there- I'll try to post a picture of it if I can figure out how to do that on here. thanks!

 

[Kim95037]

My chicken swallowed three screws and I cut a tiny slit in her crop to remove them. Not saying this is what you should do but if it is a ball and it moves to the intestines you might have a much bigger problem.

 

[T-Amy]

I think it's going to work its way out before then. It's very wet here in NY after the storm so she's filthy- which concerns me, too, about infection...

 

[CayugaLover]

i'm no expert on this sort of thing, but if i was in your situation, the first thing i would do is quarentine her (separate her from the others). when horses get colic, oftentimes what you do is give them mineral water. maybe that would help with chickens too?? at least water would be a good idea. i wouldn't give her any food, though.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Giving her anything won't help, she can't digest a golf ball so it'll just sit in her crop until eventually she starves. The only way to save her would be to remove the ball, either by cutting open the crop or perhaps forcing it back up her throat?

 

[1muttsfan]

I would be concerned about forcing it back up - there are a lot of delicate structures in the back of the throat that could be damaged. It will have to be removed, and soon - pluck and clean the skin over the golf ball with a disinfectant, then make a small cut directly over the ball on the side of the crop to avoid the blood vessels. Make it just barely big enough to squeeze out the ball. The skin over the crop can be sutured together, or if that is not possible you can leave it to heal on it's own. good luck.